Hillary Clinton may not have set out on a political career in order to cover magazines -- but there's no denying that she's almost as good in print as she is at working in Washington. And it turns out we owe the former senator's unexpected modeling career to Oscar de la Renta.
As a close friend and pantsuit advocate for Hillary, de la Renta reveals he championed Clinton's cause to Vogue's Anna Wintour for her magazine's December 1998 cover. The first first lady to pose for a Vogue cover, Hillary was no easy sell. In a new interview with Haute Living, Oscar explains:
"I was able to convince Anna to put her on the cover. I did a lot to define to the viewer who Hillary actually is. [The cover shot] was taken when she was still in the White House. I do remember at the time her advisers weren't sure if it was the right thing to do, but in the end, she said, 'Oscar, you have a great instinct about me. Let's do it.'"
And aren't we glad she did. Hillary's glossy turn paved the way for first ladies to follow (surely Michelle Obama thanks her) and helped to forge a friendship with Anna Wintour, too. Here's hoping Hillary gets even more covers -- maybe even Vogue's first female president cover -- in the future.
December 1998:
The evolution of a cover girl:
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