11:58 p.m. EDT September 10, 2016 Style editors are going to miss Michelle Obama when she's gone — and two October magazine covers could be the proof: The first lady gleams on InStyle and on Essence, where she shares the spotlight with President Obama.
Plus, she gives a mighty boost to up-and-coming designer and Lady Gaga pal Brandon Maxwell, wearing one of his dresses for the Instyle cover and looking remarkably slender in it to boot.
The two Time Inc. titles produced lavish spreads and interviews inside the covers, suggesting that the Obama administration, while winding down, still has present and engaged leaders at the top.
The president talks about his legacy and what still needs doing. The first lady talks up one of her signature projects (girls' education), her savvy use of social media and her approach to fashion. And she says she's proud that a generation of black children have grown up seeing someone who looks like them in the White House.
"I think over these last few years, we’ve kind of knocked the ceiling of limitation off the roofs of many young kids’ imaginations of what’s possible for them," she told Essence. "And as a mother, I wouldn’t underestimate how important that is ... I think that will be a lasting impact on our kids."
Both look forward with satisfaction to ending their time as America's first black first family with the opening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture later this month on the National Mall.
"It will be a nice culmination of the eight years here at the White House to leave with that building on the Mall," she told Essence.
InStyle said the October cover marks the first time the fashion chronicle has ever featured a first lady. It's fitting given that Obama will be remembered fondly by the fashion industry for her flair and for supporting American designers.
Her cover frock, a teal-colored, one-shoulder dress with thick folds at the top of the bodice, marks the second time in recent weeks that she's worn one of Maxwell's designs: She also wore a white one-shouldered gown to a state dinner for Singapore in August.
And inside the magazine, which features a clutch of pictures of her style over the years, she's wearing another Maxwell creation — a one-shouldered, black crepe dress.
Obama tells InStyle that fashion can be important cultural diplomacy, something that anyone in the public eye must pay attention to.
President Obama an first lady Michelle Obama beofre state dinner for Singapore at White House August 2, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)
"Your first interaction with people is what they see. So you can’t take it for granted. When you’re traveling in a country, the colors you wear, the cut of a dress, the hem length, whether your shoulders are showing — those are all important statements of respect and appreciation and understanding of a culture," she says. "But it’s also just as important for the wearer to be comfortable, and that has always been what drives my choices—do I feel good in this?"
On the Essence cover, she's wearing a $435 black, off-the-shoulder dress with bell sleeves by Milly.
The October issues will be on newsstands and via tablet on Sept. 16.
