“The jackets are intended to brighten up her image, each one fresh out of the box,” Greer wrote in 2012. “Instead she looks as if she’s wearing clothes that don’t belong to her, like an organ-grinder’s monkey.”
Countless articles deriding Victoria’s first female premier Joan Kirner, former Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and former federal Labor MP Cheryl Kernot’s red feather boa worn in The Australian Women’s Weekly in 1998, show that fashion can place a target on a politician’s back, especially when the clothes aren’t from Target.
The position of first lady offers enough distance to play dress ups mindfully as seen in the memorable wardrobes of Jackie Kennedy and Michelle Obama.
Jackie’s selection of an ivory gown by Parisian couturier Hubert de Givenchy to meet French President de Gaulle alongside President Kennedy in 1961 was seen by the press as an integral part of a charm offensive to strengthen relations between France and the US.
Michelle Obama updated the approach, wearing a wide range of designers while her husband, Barack, was president. At an Indian state dinner in 2009, she wore a dress by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan and a bronze Atelier Versace gown to host the Italian prime minister in 2016.
Former model Melania Trump has had less success as first lady, most memorably wearing a Zara jacket emblazoned with “I really don’t care, do u?” as she boarded a flight in 2018 to a facility in Texas housing migrant children separated from their parents.
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There is no official position of first lady in Australia, but Haydon is playing her part in international relations more successfully. On a visit to the Great Wall of China with Albanese she wore a $599 short-sleeve midi-dress with a floral print and mandarin collar from Leo Lin, a label founded by a Chinese-born Australian.
At a time when Australian designers face financial pressures from US tariffs, online fast fashion brands and increased costs of manufacturing, a potential Jodie Effect would be welcome.
While Michelle Obama was first lady, a New York University study estimates she created $US2.7 billion ($4.11 billion) in value for the 29 companies she wore in her first 189 appearances.
Haydon is already trying. In a February photo shoot for The Australian Women’s Weekly, she kept the focus on Australian labels, confining her choices to local brands such as Lee Mathews and Jac + Jack.
A spike in sales would be welcome for Romance Was Born which, despite the support of actors Cate Blanchett and Rose Byrne, is frequently overshadowed by the international success of Zimmermann, familiarity of Carla Zampatti, cool girl appeal of Camilla and Marc and regular red carpet appearances of Rebecca Vallance and Alex Perry.
As our unofficial first lady, Haydon doesn’t have to make Australian fashion her sole focus, she just has to keep it in the picture beyond her wedding photos.
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