Samantha Cameron is launching her own fashion brand in early 2017. Is it a case of the former PM’s wife monetising her status, or does she know what she’s doing?
The launch of Cefinn, a new fashion brand by Samantha Cameron, confirms that first lady chic is the defining look of our era. They say that the mood of a decade crystallises halfway through and, as this one comes into focus, the preeminent style icons are variations on the theme of soft power. From the Duchess of Cambridge’s globally documented royal wardrobe to Michelle Obama’s three Vogue covers, the consort in the corridors of power is the supermodel of our time.
That our focus has drifted away from policy and toward the more glamorous, ephemeral elements of public life is so 2016. That Samantha Cameron is the first first lady to embark on the spousal equivalent of the after-dinner speech circuit by monetising the modern obsession with her wardrobe is a mark of Cameron’s instinctive grasp of fashion, business and the modern world. (Those who quibble that Samantha Cameron was never, technically, a first lady might want to consider whether they are guilty of the kind of pedantic establishment mindset that the global electorate has summarily rejected this year.)
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