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Fashion diplomacy

Fashion diplomacy
An in-depth look at the style of first ladies around the world.
Police secure the area as people queue to enter a department store, during the opening of Shein’s first physical outlet in Paris, France, on November 5, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Sustainability

Opinion | Why Shein doesn’t have to be the model for the fashion industry

Although the fast fashion label had a bumper 2025 while familiar brands faced collapse, the industry should not conclude that speed and scale are everything.

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Celebrity style

Meet Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, who styled Zohran Mamdani’s wife Rama Duwaji

Celebrity style

The Look: what Michelle Obama said about her most iconic fashion picks

Fame and celebrity

Who is Michelle Obama’s long-time personal stylist, Meredith Koop?

Barack Obama’s wife has been rocking Chanel, Loewe and Simone Rocha fits during the press tour for the release of her latest book, The Look.

Stylist Meredith Koop has been working with Michelle Obama for over a decade. Photo: @meredithkoop/Instagram
Sanae Takaichi

Japan’s first female leader Sanae Takaichi is channelling Margaret Thatcher

Formerly the drummer for a heavy metal band, now Takaichi is fond of blue suits, soft bows and pearls – and Donald Trump just praised her ‘strong handshake’.

Celebrity style

Fashion looks from Trump’s UK visit – from Princess Kate to Melania

The US first lady wore a Burberry trench coat on arrival, while Kate Middleton shone in the Lover’s Knot tiara, formerly owned by Princess Diana.

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Melania Trump

Melania Trump’s best looks so far in 2025: Dior, Prada and Bottega Veneta

Melania turned heads with her massive navy boater hat at Trump’s inauguration, but she’s made few other public appearances this year – though she was just seen at the opening of Les Mis.

This year, first lady Melania Trump seems to have opted for mostly muted colours for her wardrobe. Photo: Getty/TNS/AP
Melania Trump

Is the fashion world finally ready to embrace Melania Trump?

Fashion media like Vogue, and key designers and brands, are less likely to ignore the first lady’s wardrobe upon President Donald Trump’s second term – but will she have the so-called ‘Kate Effect’?

Melania Trump

Melania’s big hat: who designed Mrs Trump’s inauguration day outfit?

Melania’s wide-brimmed hat kept Joe Biden at a distance, while Donald joked ‘she almost blew away’ – the first lady’s style has also been likened to Jackie Kennedy’s in the past.

Kamala Harris

Recap | Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, JD Vance: what are the style secrets behind their campaign looks?

From power pantsuits to iconic red ties, authentic workwear and sober business attire, what do the candidates’ wardrobe choices reveal about their leadership qualities and political messages?

For Kamala Harris, pictured here on the final day of the Democratic National Convention, the power pantsuit became a go-to wardrobe item on the campaign trail. Photo: AFP
Kamala Harris

What Kamala Harris’ wardrobe really says, from bold pantsuits to chill Converse

On the campaign trail, Harris has gone for softer colours, while showing she can also glam it up for special occasions – and of course, she’s still a huge fan of Converse trainers

The many faces of Kamala Harris, from pride to pantsuits, pictured at (left to right): the 2019 Pride march in San Francisco; speaking at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in August 2024; and the 2023 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton. Photos: Getty Images, Reuters, Handout
Celebrity style

How Brigitte Macron always puts her most fashionable foot forward

About to turn 71, Macron has been praised for her unerring fashion sense, with an emphasis on Louis Vuitton, and close ties with LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and LV creative director Nicolas Ghesquière

Celebrity style

Ivanka Trump’s post-White House style transformation

Since distancing herself from Donald Trump, she’s ditched the safe Gucci and Burberry ‘fits for fun looks to party with Kim Kardashian and Anant Ambani.

How to Style

How to Style like Jackie Kennedy Onassis, the definition of a fashion icon

The former first lady wrote the White House fashion rule book, influencing everyone from Melania Trump to Kate Middleton and even Taylor Swift – here’s how you can follow suit

Wife to president John F. Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy Onassis remains influential to this day – including for her dress sense. Photo: WireImage
How to Style

How to Style like Michelle Obama: confident choices and a good eye for the occasion

The fierce first lady bossed it at her last state dinner in a chain mail Atelier Versace gown, and who can forget her Thom Browne coatdress for Inauguration Day?

How to Style like Michelle Obama: now a best-selling author, she often made bold fashion choices as US first lady. Photo: AP
Fame and celebrity

How Florida first lady Casey DeSantis is channelling Jackie Kennedy

Meet the Florida first lady, former NBC news anchor and champion equestrian who is ‘strategically’ channelling White House chic at the side of her husband, governor Ron

Fashion

The enduring fashion legacy of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy

Killed in a place crash alongside her husband John F. Kennedy Jr almost 25 years ago, she continues to influence designers with her characterful yet approachable take on dressing well

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Fashion

Meet the designers pioneering Saudi Arabia’s fashion revolution

As Mohammed Ashi becomes the first Saudi Arabian designer at Paris Fashion Week, calling it the ‘peak’ of his career, excitement for the kingdom’s booming fashion industry is palpable

Fashion designer Mohammed Ashi poses after his women’s autumn/winter 2023/2024 haute couture show at Fashion Week on July 6. Photo: AFP
High Jewellery

Badges of honour: how high jewellery brooches made a glittering comeback

The brooch is back, going from frumpy to fashion-forward after being championed by the likes of Lady Gaga, Rihanna and the late Madeleine Albright

Cannes Film Festival

‘Stop Executions’: Iranian model’s ‘noose’ dress at Cannes sparks backlash

The internet is divided over Iranian model Mahlagha Jaberi’s Jila Saber bodycon dress with a neckline resembling a noose, in protest of her home country’s ‘wrongful executions’ – here’s what we know

Celebrity style

18 of US first lady Jill Biden’s best style moments ever

US first lady Jill Biden has great taste in fashion – we look back at 18 of her best style moments, from a silky blue Vera Wang gown to a daring leather dress on NBC’s The Voice with Michelle Obama

US first lady Jill Biden has dressed stylishly while in the public eye throughout the years. Photos: WireImage, Getty Images
Celebrity style

21 of Michelle Obama’s best style moments ever

Michelle Obama’s style has evolved as she went from the highly scrutinised first lady of the US to a book author wearing more adventurous outfits … take a peek at 21 of her best looks over the years

21 of Michelle Obama’s top style triumphs, from her time as first lady of the US and after. Photos: AFP, EPA, Getty Images, @michelleobama/Instagram
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

9 times Meghan Markle’s style choices had secret messages

For Meghan Markle, a dress is never just a dress … her outfits often include hidden meanings, from looks that mirror Princess Diana to jewellery brands that support women

Fashion

Prada shoes, designer suits: Rishi Sunak’s stealth-wealth wardrobe

UK leader Rishi Sunak’s penchant for Prada shoes and designer suits stand in stark contrast to his predecessors – but also disguises his expensive tastes by frequently dressing semi-casual.

Fashion

Liz Truss’ fashion choices – did they help her become UK prime minister?

New British prime minister Liz Truss is known for making bold fashion choices. Whether appearing to copy Michelle Obama or Margaret Thatcher, some observers say her style played a part in her victory.

Conservative party leadership contender Liz Truss channels Margaret Thatcher on the campaign trail. Photo: Getty Images
Fashion

Is South Korea’s Kim Keon-hee the world’s most fashionable first lady?

South Korea’s fashionable first lady Kim Keon-hee isn’t like the other women that have come before her – where they kept low profiles while their husbands ran the country, Kim embraces the spotlight.

Some of the outfits worn by South Korea’s first lady, Kim Keon-hee, during a visit to Spain, where her husband attended the 2022 Nato summit. Unlike her predecessors who have kept low profiles, Kim is unafraid to embrace the spotlight.
France

That chest hair: how Macron vs Le Pen fashion war mirrors election contest

Both Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen are using style choices to swing the tides of battle, with the incumbent French president’s recent chest-flashing photo setting the internet alight.

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Royalty

8 times British royals sent messages with their fashion choices

Queen Elizabeth may have trolled Trump by wearing a brooch gifted to her by the Obamas, while Meghan Markle appeared to choose ‘suffragette white’ for International Women’s Day

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