Pres. Obama's designer couture pays off for campaign, "just north of $40 million"
While President Barack Obama's re-election campaign took heat for launching a high-fashion clothing line as a fundraising tool earlier this year, it turns out the move may not have been such a far-fetched idea.
The Obama team's campaign manager, Jim Messina, recently said the line ultimately brought in "just north of $40 million"–a notable chunk of the more than $644 million raised by the campaign.
With high-dollar pieces created by some of the industry's top designers, the idea was started by Anna Wintour, editor of Vouge Magazine and a big Obama backer. The line even held runway fashion shows, including an event in February, where more than 500 paying guests showed up to shop for the Obama gear, paying anywhere from $44 for a discounted ticket to $2,500 for a chance to have dinner with the event's organizers.
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At the New York fashion show, 23 designers put their touches on tote bags, shirts, pins and scarves. The wares on display: $75 tote bags designed by Tory Burch and Diane Von Furstenburg, $45 t-shirts by Marc Jacobs, Beyonce, Sean John and Narciso Rodriguez, and polo shirts by Russell Simmons.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/23/obamas-designer-couture-pays-off-for-campaign/
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He got me the Alexander Wang sweatshirt hoodie (says "Let Us Be Clear" when zipped up, which nobody seems to understand) for my birthday, way back in March. I wore it when phone banking at the campaign office. It was ridiculously overpriced, for a hoodie, but all the proceeds went to the campaign, so I was very happy to get it. Plus, it's very cozy!
The designer store from the campaign was nothing compared to the artists' portfolios that were being sold. I don't know how we got the email about that one, because the items were tens of thousands of dollars beyond our pay grade. But I hope they sold a lot to wealthy donors, who got some great, very limited edition art pieces while contributing to a good cause. I think it's generous of the designers and artists to lend their talents in this way.
