She’s not a ‘trophy wife’, and she’s not a ‘school-run mum’. Does Brigitte Macron’s style signal a new era for the political wife?
Leaving her home in Le Touquet to cast her ballot in the French presidential elections on Sunday morning, Brigitte Macron wore a sleek Louis Vuitton navy coat, with a face-flattering flash of silver leather in the raised biker-styled collar. She was still wearing the coat that evening, by which time she was the country’s first lady elect, raising hands in triumph on stage with her husband, Emmanuel Macron.
Ours is a visual culture. When we get dressed, we take a position. Brigitte Macron, who has a longstanding personal interest in fashion and has been a Paris front row regular for years, knows this very well indeed; that coat was a deliberate choice, and an interesting one for several reasons. First, the biker-style collar made it a subtly rebellious look where, traditionally, political wives choose for election day dutiful, church-on-Sunday coats or dull, senior-management-meeting ensembles. Second, Macron has worn this coat many times before, including – with leather trousers, that time – to Paris fashion week in March last year, so the choice emphasises Macron’s own taste (this is from her wardrobe, not by order of an image consultant) and industry connections. Third, the coat is by Louis Vuitton, France’s biggest luxury brand, and reinforces her husband’s message of a progressive administration comfortable with big business.
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