It took less than 24 hours from her husband's victory speech for Michelle Obama to be transformed from a working mother to "Mrs O", the newest member of an exclusive club: wives of world leaders.
It has emerged that Vogue is considering putting Obama on its cover. She is being touted as the new Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; there is even a website, cheekily named Mrs O, which calls her a "budding style icon" and promises to follow every detail of what she wears, and a Michelle Obama Watch site that posts every press article about the new first lady.
But her introduction was a harsh one, as commentators poured scorn on her style choice on election night: a clinging black sheath offset by a splash of bold red made by Narciso Rodriguez, an American designer, that drew unflattering comparisons to a lava lamp and a black widow spider.
The swift judgement is an indication of the intense scrutiny Obama, 44, will face when her husband moves into the Oval Office in January and they take their place in history as the first black family in the White House.
Obama, the mother of two girls, aged seven and 10, may have toned down the dress by adding sleeves to the original design, but it was still a break from the safe skirt and jacket combination generally favoured by the wives of US presidents.
"It was a very strong statement that things are going to change in the White House, not just in government policy but in fashion," said Alejandra Tokoph, owner of Luxecouture, a Dubai boutique that stocks designer American labels. "She will have more scrutiny because she is different, because of her skin colour, her age and her family.
"It is fair to say that Michelle Obama will be more comparable with Jackie O because she has changed fashion for first ladies. She is young, dynamic, she is a mother, supportive of her husband. She has a repertoire of things that say she will make history."
Not even her choice of hairstyle escapes sociological analysis.
Patricia J Williams, a professor at Columbia University's law school, has written that her "optimistically upturned flip reflects an attitude that is subtly but powerfully liberating". The new first lady could not have an afro, Williams added, because it would be considered too "subversive" by the US public.
When The New Yorker magazine put a cartoon illustration of the Obamas on its cover in July, it attracted huge controversy for the ironic suggestion that Michelle was a 1970s black radical, complete with an afro, and Barack, whose middle name is Hussein, was a terrorist.
When she was a public relations executive earning $300,000 (Dh1.9 million) a year at the University of Chicago's medical centre, Obama may have earned more than her husband. But in her campaign speech, she emphasised her role as mother and wife rather than as the tough career woman who forced the hospital to award more contracts to firms owned by minorities. Her only controversial comment during the campaign - "for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country" - was played repeatedly on television, provoking outrage.
Since then, the Harvard Law School graduate has said her focus in the White House will be to support working mothers and the spouses of US soldiers serving in the military. She will not take a role in shaping public policy, unlike Hillary Clinton, whose appearance was also the subject of unflattering comments when she was first lady. She was derided for her thick ankles and for wearing hair bands to hold back a mop of frizz.
Obama and Clinton are not the only wives of high profile world leaders whose every item of clothing is analysed in the context of their husbands' successes. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, was languishing in the polls until his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, underwent an image change. After her transformation from femme fatale to the epitome of chic during a state visit to London this year, Sarkozy's popularity increased.
Obama's choice of comfortable and simple clothes is quintessentially American, while Bruni-Sarkozy - who persuaded her husband to stop jogging in public because it appeared "un-French" - is nearly always photographed in Hermes.
Obama, who favours the high street retailer J Crew, is said to like spending Saturday afternoons eating pizza with old friends and their children. For better or worse, those days may be over.
hghafour@thenational.ae
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Britain's travel restrictions
- A negative test 2 days before flying
- Complete passenger locator form
- Book a post-arrival PCR test
- Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
- 11 countries on red list quarantine
More from Armen Sarkissian
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEdinburgh%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20November%204%20%3Cem%3E(unchanged)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBahrain%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20November%2015%20%3Cem%3E(from%20September%2015)%3C%2Fem%3E%3B%20second%20daily%20service%20from%20January%201%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EKuwait%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20November%2015%20%3Cem%3E(from%20September%2016)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMumbai%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20October%2027)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAhmedabad%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20October%2027)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColombo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202%20%3Cem%3E(from%20January%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMuscat%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cem%3E%20%3C%2Fem%3EMarch%201%3Cem%3E%20(from%20December%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELyon%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20March%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20December%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBologna%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20March%201%20%3Cem%3E(from%20December%201)%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%20Emirates%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A