>> Last week, Oscar de la Renta drew a lot of heat for his frustrated comments on Michelle Obama's decision to champion small fashion houses, wearing Thakoon and Jason Wu over Donna Karan or Ralph Lauren:
American fashion right now is struggling. I think I understand what [Obama and her advisers] are doing, but I don’t think that is the right message at this particular point . . . I don’t object to the fact that Mrs. Obama is wearing J.Crew to whatever because the diversity of America is what makes this country great. But there are a lot of great designers out there. I think it’s wrong to go in one direction only.
He got particularly pointed about Obama's choice of an Alaia cardigan to meet Queen Elizabeth: “You don’t go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater.”
Needless to say, fashion community feathers were ruffled — Paper's Mickey Boardman blogged a piece requesting de la Renta to "hush": "It's beneath de la Renta's dignity as an elder statesman of American Fashion to consistently complain and criticize a First Lady who has done so much for American fashion."
