Photo credit: Janet Donovan
“I thought the panel was excellent,” Marie Royce told Hollywood on the Potomac about the afternoon “Diplomacy by Design” panel at The Hay-Adams Hotel that brought together the diplomatic community and leaders in the American fashion industry for an engaging panel discussion to explore the role of fashion in international diplomacy. The panel, moderated by Robbie Myers, featured Robin Givhan, Fashion Critic, Washington Post; Steven Kolb, President and CEO, Council of Fashion Designers of America and Derek Lam, Designer, Derek Lam International followed by a reception at Blair House – the President’s guest house – hosted by Ambassador Peter Selfridge, Chief of Protocol of the United States and Robbie Myers, Editor-in-Chief of ELLE.
“One of the things that they were talking about was the main fashion centers in the world being New York, London, Milan & Paris, and how fashion is also an aspect of culture. Actually, this set of panelists talked about how they would like to see fashion more integrated and that a President would not only go out for a ball or a ball game, but also would attend Fashion Week because that’s so important to the people of the industry. That would really create an impact. They also talked about the importance of fashion that started with Benjamin Franklin and how he actually made an impact, too.”
Robbie Myers, Marie Royce and The wife of the Ambassador of Azerbajian, Lala Abdurahimova
Whoa, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States a fashion icon? Well, that caught our attention so we looked it up:
According to History.com, Franklin was a fashion icon in France where he was the first US Ambassador in Paris. In 1776, the Continental Congress sent Franklin to France to seek military aid for the revolution. The 70-year-old was already world renowned for his lighting experiments—the French even called their electrical experimenters “Franklinistes”—but his fame soared to new heights after his arrival in Paris. Franklin capitalized on the French conception of Americans as rustic frontiersmen by dressing plainly and wearing a fur hat, which soon became his trademark and appeared in countless French portraits and medallions. Women even took to imitating the cap with oversized wigs in a style called “coiffure a la Franklin.” When Franklin later traded the fur cap for a white hat during the signing of the 1778 treaty between the France and the United States, white colored headgear instantly became a fashion trend among the men of Paris.
Robin Givhan
One of the things they talked about as examples of today’s fashion statements was the fact that clothes kind of express a position of confidence, power, and they talked about a 2006 article Pulitzer Prize winner Robin Givhan Robin wrote about when Condoleezza Rice was Secretary of State. She talked about Secretary Rice going to a base, a military base, and her wearing black boots and wearing an outfit that really made a statement. It was like she was powerful, but she still expressed herself in a way that was very authentic and showed confidence. To quote the Washington Post article: “Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield on Wednesday dressed all in black. She was wearing a black skirt that hit just above the knee, and it was topped with a black coat that fell to mid-calf. The coat, with its seven gold buttons running down the front and its band collar, called to mind a Marine’s dress uniform or the “save humanity” ensemble worn by Keanu Reeves in “The Matrix.” As Rice walked out to greet the troops, the coat blew open in a rather swashbuckling way to reveal the top of a pair of knee-high boots. The boots had a high, slender heel that is not particularly practical. But it is a popular silhouette because it tends to elongate and flatter the leg. In short, the boots are sexy.”
“I think that we don’t have any kind of traditional dress, so the way that we dress really reflects who we are as a people,” Givhan told us. “It reflects all the different cultures that are here. It reflects our sort of pragmatism. It reflects an informality. All those things sort of speak to American culture. A lot of it is influenced by popular culture and is one of our biggest exports. Every time an American tourist goes abroad, the fashion is what people see, and it’s how they get to know that individual without their every saying a word. Oftentimes, they don’t speak the language, so it’s really just the clothes that speak for them.” As regards fashion icon First Lady Michelle Obama, she noted that she brought American fashion to an international audience.”certainly bringing a lot of attention to American designers and I think she’s had an impact certainly on women. A lot of women here think about what it means to dress in a way that reflects professionalism and confidence. I think she’s changed tremendously how we think about First Ladies and what we expect them to look like. In the past, I think, particularly for state occasions, the look has always been sort of appropriate and rather legal and reserved. She took cues much more from Hollywood glamour and from The Red Carpet, and to be honest, that’s where most people get their fashion cues from when they think about what it means to be dressed up and formal and contemporary. I think that’s one of the reasons why people connected to her so much because it was as if they were speaking the same language. Her clothes were clothes that I think a lot of people could imagine in their fantasies wearing or even wanting to wear in their fantasies versus something that felt very perfunctory.”
Ornella Laved, Designer from Ecuador: “I am 23 years old and I’ve been in the fashion industry for about 4 years.” She designed the dress she was wearing.
Kiyomi Buker and Robbie Myers: “I feel the idea was probably developed out of a similar program with chefs, as sort of cultural messengers.”
Jane Harmon, Ann & Lloyd Hand admire Ann Hand Jewelry
“This event is meant to celebrate the connection between fashion and international diplomacy and is the first of its kind ever hosted by the State Department,” said Ambassador Selfridge, Chief of Protocol. “Blair house, as many of you may know, has a very rich history going back nearly two centuries. Every President since Abraham Lincoln has walked through the front threshold here, same floor – so if you want to stand on the same floor as Abraham Lincoln stood on please do so. The US government purchased the house from the Blair family just as recently as the 1940’s. And here is a quick fashion tidbit, or actually a non fashion tidbit. It was purchased because, well this is the legend anyway, Winston Churchill during the war years used to visit the White House a lot. He didn’t really have a lot of fashion sense because he would always take his clothes off and wander the halls smoking a cigar. So Eleanor Roosevelt got tired of that and so she looked for a guest house and that’s Blair House. Since then, it has hosted kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers and dignitaries from around the world and now you are all part of this history as distinguished guests. Actually, I should probably say you are one the best dressed groups that has come in here. So, hope you feel welcome because diplomacy is not just a fancy word for people with long titles, each one of you here is therefore a diplomat in your own right. Tonight we are celebrating the fashions and designs of many cultures and we challenge you to think about how fashion can be used with others around the world.”
Ambassador Selfridge and Robbie Myers
“And since this event literally took a village to produce I want to recognize the people in our organization that helped make it happen,” Selfridge added. “Chief co-host Robbie Myers and our lead partner Brooks Brothers which has dressed 39 of the last 44 US Presidents. We also have event partners SUPIMA, the Estée Lauder companies, American Eagle Outfitters, E BAY, and Kelley Drye and Warren. We presented collections from their retailers along with styles by Derek Lam who we are thrilled to have with us as a special guest tonight. In addition to enjoying Blair House treasures, our goal tonight is to encourage you make your way to every room on the first floor of this house and enjoy the numerous fashion experience we’ve curated for you. You definitely don’t want to miss the United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s pins in just the dining room right behind you. There are traditional and modern clothing items from twenty Embassies and we also have historical and contemporary displays from The Textile Museum and the US Diplomacy Center.”
The Cultures:
The Guests:
Maria Trabocchi
“Whenever I come to Washington D.C. I always learn so much. It’s like a history lesson. I can feel the ghosts of [the past]. I just want to say thank you for agreeing to do this, for thinking that fashion can be a messenger. I think that and feel that every single day.” Robbie Myers
