Michelle Obama has released her book, The Look, a photo-led exploration of her style. Like any First Lady before and after her, Obama’s looks have been scrutinized and analyzed. Here, she takes the power back to tell a sartorial story of identity, power, representation, and style with substance. The book tour has already articulated that message with striking, thoughtful looks.
Styled by her right-hand woman Meredith Koop, who co-authored The Look, Obama took to the stage of the People Inc. event in New York City on Wednesday (November 5) for a Q&A with La La Anthony. She wore a custom wool-check suit with a cropped, gold-buttoned jacket and matching, pleat-fronted pants from Matthieu Blazy’s debut spring 2026 Chanel collection—look one from the show. Eschewing the runway styling of the suit, Obama wore the blazer open with a white fitted t-shirt underneath, and two-tone, cream and black-capped Chanel heels. She also wore a pair of the white, fireworks-like earrings as seen on the models.
Earlier this week, Obama attended a live taping of her podcast IMO with Michelle Obama Craig Robinson, outfitted in one of this season’s buzziest debuts: Loewe’s spring 2026 collection, designed by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. The black, yellow, and magenta-panelled viscose dress cut a sleek, polished figure, with a high neckline and elegant ruching details. One even more delightful detail? Inside the dress, a special custom tag simply read: “For Mrs. Obama.”
Obama isn’t the only public figure enamored with this year’s crop of designer debuts: Jennifer Lawrence has been road-testing Jonathan Anderson’s vision for Dior, and the 2025 Venice Film Festival was basically a designer debut hard-launch, made possible by everyone from Jacob Elordi in Louise Trotter’s Bottega Veneta to Greta Lee in more Dior, and Julia Roberts in Versace. Of course, Chanel ambassadors including Nicole Kidman, Ayo Edebiri, and Fernanda Torres have also been delighting in Blazy’s custom looks.
Seeing Michelle in a contemporary take on the Chanel suit makes a lot of sartorial sense—both Obama and Blazy are uncompromising in their visions, assured in their statements of intent. Blazy’s Chanel woman—like Kidman, Edebiri, Jennie, Kristen Stewart, and Marion Cotillard—reflect that passion for evolution, whether walking a red carpet or commanding a stage.
The suit is an enduring icon of the late Coco Chanel’s brand, with designers from Karl Lagerfeld to Virginie Viard evolving its details to make something both fresh and timeless. As Blazy told Vogue, he was inspired by the influence of Chanel’s boyfriend Boy Capel’s wardrobe, and the boundary-pushing way she experimented with the utilitarian aspects of traditional men’s tailoring to make that iconic, ever-copied suit. While the Chanel cropped tweed jacket is no longer the cult item it once was, the spring 2026 show made the case for a future-facing revival: Michelle Obama is just one figure who looks to be all-in.
