Michelle Obama, you’re here.
Tonight over 11,000 people gathered at Copenhagen’s Royal Arena for the Becoming book tour. We were all there to cheer on, connect with + feel inspired by Michelle Obama. This was city number one on the European leg of the tour.
Last November, I felt an incredible urge to purchase Becoming right away. I actually decided to go on a little solo trip solely for the purpose of diving deep into a world among the pages of her book. It was inspiring, smart, witty, funny, authentic, warm, and most of all relatable. When my husband, Jesper, surprised me with tickets to see her live, my jaw dropped with excitement. I couldn’t believe that I’d not only be in the same country, but the same room as her. So, it’s easy to say that I was elated — grinning non-stop for a whole week.
As tonight approached, one of the things
I was most excited to see + anticipating
all week was her outfit.
It’s no coincidence that Michelle decided to team up with the bold Danish designer, Stine Goya, who happens to be one of my favorite designers + someone I am very inspired by. Stine states in her book Imprint: “ I design clothes that encourage women to express their individuality — and with the aspiration of making a small imprint on the ever-evolving cycle of fashion” And I think she succeeded with that aim tonight with Michelle’s custom look. She came strutting out onto the stage in a fabulous pink suit, complete with starbursts made of crystals shimmering all the way to the back of the arena. It was bold in color, yet feminine in its details making it the perfect look for the occasion.
In a world that’s become quite curated around influencers, it’s no surprise that Michelle is one of them. I mean, she only has 28 million followers. She’s become not only a style icon, but a powerful trendsetter in fashion. Even on this tour she was been having some serious looks (ahem, can we say Balenciaga gold thigh high boots?). Michelle has quickly realized that if she wears something, that item would sell out almost immediately. It happens so much there’s even a term for it: The Michelle Obama Effect.
Understanding this power she had, she consciously decided to use her own fashion as a way doing good. She actively supports upcoming designers that might not become recognized for their great talents. By supporting these designers, she shows she believes in them and their work. This is just one of the many ways that she exemplifies one of her key values: lead by example with hope, never fear.
SHOP MICHELLE’S LOOK
Tonight began boldly with the question who are you becoming? A simple question but one that requires a lot of thought. A panel of 6 different people from all sorts of backgrounds and ages then gave their answer to the audience. The one that stuck with me the most was a sixth grader who said she wanted to be ambitious and a good friend — me too girl. This was one of the great messages of the evening.
Defining who you want to become is so different for each person. Personally, up until now I had always defined much of who I was by what sort of work I did. This changed when I was abruptly not allowed to work for 10-months when I applied for my new visa. I quickly found myself in a place of unexpected self-exploration and discovery. During this time, I spent my days taking numerous online classes, coming up with new home improvement projects, learning how to cook, and really just following any little thing that peeked my curiosity. In some ways, I feel I became more confused on who I wanted to become until I read Becoming + again tonight hearing Michelle speak.
THE LITTLE THINGS DO MATTER
Michelle Obama concluded her Copenhagen book tour \with the idea that everyone needs to do three things in order to help you navigate your journey:
- Love yourself
- Live with empathy for others
- Kindness — you can never have too much
So, while the road to success might be a curvy road, bumpy, and maybe even have a pothole or too, it’s going to be okay as long as you follow those three principles. I might not be entirely sure who I’m becoming, I do know that with a solid foundation I can become anything I set my mind to. And you can too.
Today all in all reminded me of why I wanted to start Swanky + Bold, leaving me feel inspired and excited about my own journey.
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