It's Just Politics

(NEW YORK) Donatella Versace would vote for Senator Barack Obama for president if she could, but it doesn't look like he served as the muse for her Spring 2009 men's collection, as several media outlets have described. After a writer from the Associated Press mistakenly wrote that Versace had "dedicated her Spring-Summer 2009 collection to Obama," word quickly spread that the Democratic presidential candidate had served as the designer's latest muse. This morning, on the Today show, Matt Lauer even went so far as to broadcast on national television that Versace had sought inspiration for her latest collection from Obama. Not so, the platinum-tressed designer's press office quickly corrected when made aware of the ever-growing misnomer.

"It was the type of man Barack Obama represents that inspired the men's Spring 2009 collection," said a Versace spokesman. "A modern man with a laid back relaxed look and attitude. Not Obama himself." Indeed, nowhere in the Versace press release nor in her presentation was there any indication of any direct influence by Obama. But after having recently attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner with Kate Betts as a guest of Time Style & Design, Versace, who so famously preached that Senator Hilary Clinton should opt for skirts on occasion over her trademark pantsuits, has found herself fielding as many questions about her political stance as she does on her fashion prowess.