Michelle Obama wears a cardigan by Auckland designer Wynn Hamlyn on her podcast. Photo / YouTube screenshot
Michelle Obama wears a cardigan by Auckland designer Wynn Hamlyn on her podcast. Photo / YouTube screenshot
In a sartorial surprise, former US first lady Michelle Obama has been spotted in a merino design by Auckland fashion label Wynn Hamlyn.
Filming an episode of her podcast, IMO, with her brother Craig Robinson and guest clinical psychologist Dr Orna Guralnik Obama, she wore Wynn Hamlyn’s Flower cardigan.
The maroon merino features a rib neck design and hand-crocheted flowers in a contrasting shade of pink.
The brand, based in central Auckland, told the Herald it was still trying to get to the bottom of how the knit made its way into Michelle Obama’s wardrobe.
“It was most likely purchased from the brand’s US stockist Revolve by Obama’s stylist – they are the only US wholesaler to have stocked this particular style,” the brand said.
If that’s the case, the garment was selected by Meredith Koop, who has been Obama’s stylist since 2010.
The brand said this design was originally from Wynn Hamlyn’s Pre-Fall 2024 Collection, launched in July 2024.
“Each flower is hand-crocheted, meaning no two are quite the same – a sentimental nod to Wynn’s ongoing commitment to the possibilities of craft.
Michelle Obama wore the knit over a white crew neck T-shirt. Photo / Youtube screenshot.
Wynn Crawshaw, founder and creative director of Wynn Hamlyn, said it was “a joy and total privilege to see our pieces on the world stage”.
Explaining the design’s origins, Crawshaw said he was “really interested in the subversion of a traditional floral motif – reimagining craft techniques like crochet in a fresh way”.
This season the brand presented florals in another way, decorating a square-neck mini dress in a pansy print made up entirely of buttons sewn on a mesh underlayer.
This isn’t the first time Obama has worn New Zealand designers. In 2019, she wore a Maggie Marilyn custom mint green suit to a speaking engagement in Canada, and three years earlier, she wore a denim pantsuit by Karen Walker on a book tour promoting her memoir Becoming.
Next month, Obama will release a book she describes as “a reflection on my lifelong journey with fashion, hair and beauty”.
Titled The Look, the book is written in conjunction with stylist Koop.
Announcing the publication on Instagram, Obama wrote: “During our family’s time in the White House, the way I looked was constantly being dissected – what I wore, how my hair was styled.
“For a while now, I’ve been wanting to reclaim more of that story, to share it in my own way. I’m thankful to be at a stage in life where I feel comfortable expressing myself freely – wearing what I love and doing what feels true to me.”
