Chief Vogue Editor Anna Wintour and White House Secretary Desiree Rogers at New York Fashion Week

Desiree, can we have your job please? We don’t care much about hanging out with American Vogue Editor-in-chief Anna Wintour (of Devil Wears Prada fame) but front row at all the fashion shows would be The Sweetest gig ever. We thought the White House Social Secretary job to be all about appointments and calendars and thank you notes and not about Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan, Thakoon and Marc Jacobs. Actually, Ms. Rogers is the official party planner, responsible for all White House functions, state dinners and the like. Now she’s the Rachel Zoe of the White House and stated it was important for the Administration to be supportive of all the arts, including fashion. That’s cool, but fashion is also big business.

"Michelle and Sasha...." by artist Elizabeth Peyton

New York artist, Elizabeth Peyton, translated a magazine photo into an oil painting entitled “Michelle and Sasha Obama Listening to Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention August 2008″.  She is most famous for her works of Kurt Cobain and Leonardo DiCaprio. An oil on canvas of John Lennon sold for $800,000 in 2006 and her works are now in the collections fo the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. While this painting doesn’t make Ms. Peyton an overnight success (uh, 800 grand says she’s already arrived) we like the free press she’s gotten by painting the Obamas. It’s not surprising that past subjects include members of the Kennedy family since so many correlations have been drawn between the Obamas and the Kennedys.

If the Platform in Support of the Arts gets off the ground then the next generation of artists might have a chance to enjoy the same success. This is an excerpt from the campaign site:

Our nation’s creativity has filled the world’s libraries, museums, recital halls, movie houses, and marketplaces with works of genius. The arts embody the American spirit of self-definition. As the author of two best-selling books – Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope – Barack Obama uniquely appreciates the role and value of creative expression.
A PLATFORM IN SUPPORT OF THE ARTS
Reinvest in Arts Education: To remain competitive in the global economy, America needs to reinvigorate the kind of creativity and innovation that has made this country great. To do so, we must nourish our children’s
creative skills. In addition to giving our children the science and math skills they need to compete in the new global context, we should also encourage the ability to think creatively that comes from a meaningful arts
education. Unfortunately, many school districts are cutting instructional time for art and music education. Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that the arts should be a central part of effective teaching and learning.
The Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts recently said “The purpose of arts education is not to produce more artists, though that is a byproduct. The real purpose of arts education is to create complete human
beings capable of leading successful and productive lives in a free society.” To support greater arts education, Obama will:

• Expand Public/Private Partnerships Between Schools and Arts Organizations: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will increase resources for the U.S. Department of Education’s Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination Grants, which develop public/private partnerships between schools and arts organizations. They will also engage the foundation and corporate community to increase support for public/private partnerships.

• Create an Artist Corps: Barack Obama and Joe Biden support the creation of an “Artists Corps” of young artists trained to work in low-income schools and their communities. Studies in Chicago have demonstrated that test scores improved faster for students enrolled in low-income schools that link arts across the curriculum than scores for students in schools lacking such programs.

• Publicly Champion the Importance of Arts Education: As president, Barack Obama will use the bully pulpit and the example he will set in the White House to promote the importance of arts and arts education in America. Not only is arts education indispensable for success in a rapidly changing, high skill, information economy, but studies show that arts education raises test scores in other subject areas as well.

• Support Increased Funding for the NEA: Over the last 15 years, government funding for the National Endowment for the Arts has been slashed from $175 million annually in 1992 to $125 million today. Barack Obama and Joe Biden support increased funding for the NEA, the support of which enriches schools and neighborhoods all across the nation and helps to promote the economic development of countless communities.

• Promote Cultural Diplomacy: American artists, performers and thinkers – representing our values and ideals – can inspire people both at home and all over the world. Through efforts like that of the United States Information Agency, America’s cultural leaders were deployed around the world during the Cold War as artistic ambassadors and helped win the war of ideas by demonstrating to the world the promise of America. Artists can be utilized again to help us win the war of ideas against Islamic extremism. Unfortunately, our resources for cultural diplomacy are at their lowest level in a decade. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will work to reverse this trend and improve and expand public-private partnerships to expand cultural and arts exchanges throughout the world.

• Attract Foreign Talent: The flipside to promoting American arts and culture abroad is welcoming members of the foreign arts community to America. Opening America’s doors to students and professional artists provides the kind of two-way cultural understanding that can break down the barriers that feed hatred and fear. As America tightened visa restrictions after 9/11, the world’s most talented students and artists, who used to come here, went elsewhere. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will streamline the visa process to return America to its rightful place as the world’s top destination for artists and art students.

• Provide Health Care to Artists: Finding affordable health coverage has often been one of the most vexing obstacles for artists and those in the creative community. Since many artists work independently or have nontraditional employment relationships, employer-based coverage is unavailable and individual policies are financially out of reach. The Obama-Biden plan will provide all Americans with quality, affordable health care. Their plan includes the creation of a new public program that will allow individuals and small businesses to buy affordable health care similar to that available to federal employees. Their plan also creates a National Health Insurance Exchange to reform the private insurance market and allow Americans to enroll in participating private plans, which would have to provide comprehensive benefits, issue every applicant a policy, and charge fair and stable premiums. For those who still cannot afford coverage, the government will provide a subsidy. His health plan will lower costs for the typical American family by up to $2,500 per year.

Ensure Tax Fairness for Artists: Barack Obama supports the Artist-Museum Partnership Act, introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The Act amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow artists to deduct the fair market value of their work, rather than just the costs of the materials, when they make charitable contributions.

Ok, this seems pretty ambitious considering the country is bankrupt. This could be a good cause for Michelle, getting the private sector to pony up some cash for these programs. There’s plenty of rich CEO’s out there. Hey, our friend, Mickey Drexler of J.Crew, has got an extra $65.5 million in stock he might be willing to donate.

Elementary school teachers usually don’t have budgets for art supplies so if you have some left over from crafts projects you can donate them to your local school. Scrapbooking supplies can be useful too.

]]> http://www.obamastylewatch.com/2009/03/dream-job-front-row-at-fashion-week/feed/ 0 http://www.obamastylewatch.com/2009/02/crew-cuts-not-just-for-kids/ http://www.obamastylewatch.com/2009/02/crew-cuts-not-just-for-kids/#comments Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:32:29 +0000 Jones http://www.obamastylewatch.com/?p=205 Do you get J.Crew’s (80 million in circulation) glossy catalogs? In spite of this high-cost advertising they’re still cutting 95 jobs which is 10% of it’s workforce.  They’re also suspending matching contributions for their employee’s 401k plans. They hope to save about $40 million a year.  Maybe the employees are wondering how the company is doing so badly when the CEO, Mickey Drexler personally owns $65.5 million in stock. His salary is pretty low at $200k a year but the $1.5 million bonus makes up for it. Remember when bonuses were based on the success of the company?

How can this be? Aren’t the Obamas single handedly propping up J. Crew’s sales by wearing their gear all the time?

The numbers just don’t add up.  In 2007 they employed 7,600 and MarketWatch claims they now employ 3,100. The cuts are primarily in it’s New York offices and field and distribution centers.  Last year they reported sales of $1.3 billion? What’s wrong with this picture?

Well, they’ve had some problems over the past few years.  The men’s barn coat contained Teflon which has nasty chemicals like PFCs. Then Xinhua, their Chinese textile supplier, was fined $1.4 million for the discharge of illegal sewage. Then there’s the Saipan sweatshop scandal where they were part of a $20 million dollar settlement for violation of labor laws.

Last month their website crashed from the sheer volume of buyers. Maybe they should print fewer catalogs and focus on their site which has been written up in financial publications for having issues. Problems like everything showing up as “out of stock”, canceled orders and insignificant discounts earned them the “Worst Website Redesign Award” from Fashionism.org.

We are astounded that a company getting such free press nationally is actually cutting jobs.  Sales at The Gap are way down but their profit margin is still holding. L.L. Bean and Land’s End (division of Sears) haven’t announced any layoff plans. Clearly,  the competition just does it better.

Tracy Feith Dress

We like our home grown surfer dude, Tracy Feith from big ‘ol Texas. Tracy probably didn’t need the publicity because in May, his designs will be hittin’ the racks at Target. (His current offerings are USA made.) Isaac has had a pretty good gig with Target and yeah, everybody likes the price points but we all know that mass market clothing is mass produced in factories in far away places. We hear the big corporations swearing that they don’t use sweatshops and then we read about their stuff being made by 8 year olds. You can’t control manufacturing at such great distances so the only way you can be really sure that your clothing is ethically made is to have it made in your own country. Instead of an ivory tower, you can have a nice office in the same facility where it’s sewn. Think of all the barrels of oil that can be saved. Any chance J. Crew is listening? Anyway, our hope is for a thriving garment industry here in the USA, where people value their clothing for many years before they give them to charity. BTW, this photo was taken at the prayer service on the first day of her new job.

J. Crew Outfit

We like J.Crew for it’s quality classics but unfortunately this outfit is imported. A quick search on their site turns up 129 items that are made in the USA. Most of the inventory is belts, jeans, swimwear and some neckties. I’m guessing the neckties are from Robert Talbott who currently employs 250 people on the Monterey Peninsula of Carmel, California.