Final Part Leading Ladies of Diplomacy: Ibu Retno, Ms Bishop and Mrs Clinton

Bon weekend global fashionista!

As you can see from the photo, Her Excellency Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton is our focus on this last part of Leading Ladies of Diplomacy article. This photo of Mrs Clinton and mine, both in hand-painted Indonesian Batik, were taken during her participation at the ASEAN and East Asia Summit in Bali in 2011 where I had the honor to serve as Her Excellency’s Liaison Officer throughout her stay in Indonesia then. It is an amazing experience to be able to accompany her for almost four days in Bali as I was able to learn a whole bunch not only from her way of conducting diplomacy but also on how she conducts her elegance and poise by her choice of fashion statement.

Mrs Clinton came to global prominence when her husband was inaugurated as the US President in 1993. She cemented her position as the first ever FLOTUS who ran for public office after her tenure when she was elected as US Senator for New York. She then moved on to become the US Secretary of State/SoS (Foreign Minister) in the first term administration of President Obama which again created her as the only First Lady in US to serve as Foreign Minister to date. Now, the best is yet to come for her and her family, as she is running to become the first ever female US President.

Before we dwell into her fashion and style note, let us take a close observation at how Mrs Clinton described herself through her twitter account (@HillaryClinton), namely she as a wife, mom, grandma, women + kids advocate, First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS), Senator, Secretary of State, hair icon, pantsuit aficionado and finally, 2016 presidential candidate. I appreciate how she puts her status as wife, mom, and grandma as the first three status before all the others. Indeed, these first three roles have influenced her choice of style and fashion.

Through these first three roles, Mrs Clinton has done her utmost job as a loving Mom to Chelsea, a faithful wife to Bill and a doting Granny to Charlotte. Having a united family is one of her best qualities to face the judging public eyes. When she held the public office as the First Lady, her ability to calmly hold the public office was largely acknowledged and admired by her staff. This fact could be read in her “Living History” autobiography, “Soon my staff became known around the White House as 'Hillaryland.' We were fully immersed in the daily operations of the West Wing, but we were also our own little subculture within the White House. My staff prided themselves on discretion, loyalty and camaraderie, and we had our own special ethos. While the West Wing had a tendency to leak, Hillaryland never did." 

All these experiences, not to mention her valuable years as an undergrad at the super exclusive girls only Wellesley College and post grad at the distinguished Yale Law School, have strengthened not only her intellectual capability but also her understanding of the importance of public image as she worked the ladder in becoming the most recognisable American female foreign minister in the 21^st century to date.

From her way of dressing up as she began her tenure as the SoS, it is apparent that her pantsuit and dresses have never represented her image as an The Iron Lady as perhaps the late UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher or other previous female US Foreign Ministers did.

Instead, her choice of pantsuit, dresses, blouses, pants, bags, shoes, and accessories have represented her image as a US Foreign Minister who is accessible and approachable not just by her peers within the Department of State and distinguished foreign diplomats but also to other persons who encountered her. Closely observe her choice of pantsuit, albeit the traditional cutting, the details of lining and color adds an elegant twist.

Having spent decades of her lives in the public eyes, Mrs Clinton understood completely the strength of fashion as an integral key of diplomacy. Over the decades, she has befriended a number of American influential designers and style makers, among others Oscar de la Renta, Diane von Furstenberg and Donna Karan. Anna Wintour, the Editor in Chief of US Vogue, and Diana, the late Princess of Wales, are those inside her close knitted circle of friends.

De la Renta must be one of her most beloved friends and designers as Mrs Clinton spent some quality time to accompany the late designer to attend a few public events, e.g. the Council of Fashion Designer in America gala in 2002 and also the event for Spain's Queen Sophia in 2013. In not so distant past, as the Mother of the Bride, Mrs Clinton honoured Oscar De La Renta by wearing his flowery dress at Chelsea Clinton’s wedding.

Mrs Clinton’s undeniable skill of fashion diplomacy lies also in her ability to sparkle up her appearances by putting on a single piece of unique jewellery, either a pearl necklace or brooch –which she is well known to have a handsome collection-. Since her years as the FLOTUS, Mrs Clinton is known about her exquisite taste in jewellery. In 1998, she wore the Liberty Eagle brooch which depicts an eagle perched protectively on a pearl to the Today Show. Since then, the brooch has been labelled as “Hillary pin” and it has established Ann Hand, the Washington-based designer, into a world renowned jewellery designer. Hand’s fans include Laura Bush and Australian current Foreign Minister Julie Bishop who admitted her brooch collection is inspired by Mrs Clinton’s.

I, as well as all Indonesians, rejoiced when we witnessed Secretary Clinton wearing a red colored Indonesian Batik dressy jacket in Nusa Dua during the welcoming dinner of East Asia Summit in 2011. Indeed it was an accomplishment to Indonesian fashion industry that an Indonesian Batik ensemble is chosen to be worn by Secretary Clinton. However, most of us have forgotten that it was not the first encounter of Mrs Clinton with Batik.

In 1994, while accompanying her husband attending APEC Summit in Bogor, Mrs Clinton was welcomed by the then Indonesian First Lady, Mrs Siti Hartinah Suharto, known as Ibu Tien Suharto, with a fashion show. The show featured lovely Batik creations by Iwan Tirta, the late Indonesian Batik maestro. During that time, the designer reminisced with the first lady about Yale Law School, which they both attended. Charmed by Tirta’s creative designs, Mrs. Clinton reportedly stated, ''it's nice to know lawyers can make good things.'' During this trip, Mrs Clinton also visited Yogyakarta. Aside from the trip to the Sultan’s Palace, she also made a quick visit to the renowned Batik maker, Ardiyanto Pranata. The photo of Mrs Clinton closely observing Pranata’s vast collection of hand-painted Batik has been proudly displayed in his gallery ever since.

Currently, Americans and world’s citizens alike eagerly await the landmark campaign of Mrs Clinton as the 2016 US Presidential Candidate. In this waiting period, let us all immersed ourselves with the array of fashion sense that she has gracefully demonstrated throughout her tenure as the Secretary of State and beyond.

This finale of my three weeks spanned article on Leading Ladies of Diplomacy conclude that, aside from being ceiling breakers (both Ibu Retno and Ms Bishop are the first female to be elected as Foreign Minister in their respective countries, whereas Mrs Clinton is the first ever FLOTUS to run public office as Senator and elected as Secretary of State afterwards), the three Foreign Ministers have been elegantly demonstrating an exemplary signature style which enable fashion as part and parcel with diplomacy, including in garnering international support and building better relations.

Viva Fashion Diplomacy in Indonesia, Australia, US and beyond!

Secretary Clinton greeted JET as witnessed closely by Ibu Retno Marsudi –then as Director General for American and European affairs/now the Indonesian Foreign Minister- upon stepping down the State Department private jet in Denpasar airport, Bali, Indonesia. Mrs Clinton wore a pistachio green Thai silk bolero and her signature sunglasses.

L-R: JET –wearing a hand-painted black and brown Batik shirt with Sido Mukti pattern which was designed by Novita Yunus for Batik Chic-, Secretary Clinton –dressed in a red colored Indonesian Batik (from the city of Lasem) tunic-type blouse worn with a red cashmere sash-, Mrs Sranya Natalegawa (spouse of the then Indonesian Foreign Minister, Dr R. Marty M. Natalegawa) –dressed in a black kebaya-.

Secretary Clinton, in an orange colored pantsuit and a unique pearl necklace, shook the hands of Dr. R. Marty M. Natalegawa (Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2009-2014) at the US Department of State.

Secretary Clinton –impeccably dressed in black with white collared lining, and complemented with another gorgeous pearl necklace - after meeting with Indonesian President, H.E. Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the State Palace in Jakarta.

Secretary Clinton, dressed in her famous blue pantsuit, with Dr N. Hassan Wirajuda, the then Foreign Minister of Indonesia (2002-2009) at a press conference after their meeting at Gedung Pancasila, Jakarta.

 Mrs Clinton –appropriately dressed in an navy blue coloured evening gown tunic by Oscar De La Renta- with the designer Oscar De La Renta, Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain and Antonio Banderas attending the 2013 Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Gold Medal in Waldorf Astoria, New York.

L-R: The Wedding Photo of Chelsea Clinton. Mrs Clinton -in another gorgeous design by Oscar De La Renta with a unique set of necklace and earrings- as the Mother of the Bride, Mrs Dorothy Rodham (Hillary Clinton’s mother) and Mrs Chelsea Clinton. 

L-R: THE US First Ladies: The US First Lady Michelle Obama, Mrs Laura Bush, Mrs Clinton -the only one dressed in a tunic-like blouse cementing her signature style-, Mrs Barbara Bush and Mrs Rosalyn Carter.

No other former US First Lady ever graced so many covers of US and International leading magazines. In her role as the First Lady, Mrs Clinton appeared in this December 1998 edition of US Vogue aptly titled “The Extraordinary Hillary Clinton”. Afterwards she graced the cover of Time a few times, Newsweek and others in her capacity as Secretary of State.

When Mrs Clinton talks, everyone –including the famous and powerful ones, no matter how famous and powerful they are- listen. Dressed in an impeccable Tiffany colored blue suit with a set of pearl necklace and earrings , she delivered her address as the then US First Lady to a fashionable crowd as witnessed by (L-R) Anna Wintour, Oscar De La Renta (not seen), Katherine Graham and the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

Liberty Eagle brooch, which is the creative design of Ann Hand, received world wide fame after being worn by Mrs Clinton. 

Sources of photos are from leading online magazine and newspaper (AFP, Time, Newsweek, Alamy, White House website, Department of State website, Ann Hand website and personal collection)

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