Newer generation of designers energizes the runways

The upcoming fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute is about the female model as muse, but what was on the minds of much of the fashion industry this week was Michelle Obama as muse. Of course there was speculation about whether she would attend any runway shows (we got White House press secretary Desiree Rogers instead).

But Obama's presence was felt in other ways. First in the subtle shift in the designer hierarchy. Where Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera used to be TV model pacesetters and favorites of Laura Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton, this season their clothes felt ancient. There was as much or more interest in collections by a new generation of designer talents Jason Wu, Thakoon Panichgul and Narciso Rodriguez, all of whom have dressed the new first lady. This alone has energized the fashion business, which has been clobbered by the economic downturn.

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