One to Watch: Kevork Kiledjian
Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 10:51 AM 
Photo by Jim Watson / Getty Images
Last week I received a tip from reader "fashion boy," that the first lady's dress above hailed from the label Guilty Brotherhood. This was an exciting bit of news on two fronts, as 1) the dress was part of the President and First Lady's historic trip to India and Indonesia, yet even several months later, remained a mystery, and 2) Guilty Brotherhood is a label I'm not familiar with -- who doesn't love a new discovery?
With a few emails sent, the dress proved to be from the line of Kevork Kiledjian, who also designed Guilty Brotherhood. A point of clarification: Kiledjian decided, after the SS11 collection for Guilty Brotherhood, that he will, from now on, develop his line under his own name. The dress is black and red feather print (not ikat, as many in the media, as well as this blog, speculated), from the designer's Fall Winter 2010 collection, and available at Ikram in Chicago.
With that information in hand, I visited the Guilty Brotherhood website, to learn more about the designer and his sexy, avant garde designs, often constructed of leather and lace in black and vibrant red hues.
"Torn by extremes all his life, Kevork Kiledjian has created a dualistic style defined by the relationship between luxe and urban. Founder of the brand Triiad, still recognized as a seminal success in the history of French street wear, Kiledjian has also been at the heart of brilliant and diverse collaborations in the fashion world and beyond. In 2008, Kiledjian, hoping to share his personal vision of luxury and his love for the modern woman, opened the doors of the provocative and sumptuous pret-a-porter Guilty Brotherhood house."
What fascinates me most about this pairing is the setting. Kiledjian certainly has one of the sexiest aesthetics of any designer in Mrs. O's repertoire. And yet, on the occasion she chose his work, Mrs. O was at her most modest, honoring the culture and custom of Indonesia. It is an interesting - one wonders, deliberate? - tension to ponder.
Guilty Brotherhood, Kevork Kiledjian
Reader Comments (18)
Love it... What I love about Mrs. Obama is she wears many different styles
Beautiful and elegant. Just perfect.
WOW! After checking out the Guilty Brotherhood website, I can only say that Kiledjian's designs are nothing short of decadent (in a good way). They are like chocolate - sinfully sweet, classic & sexy all in one. Hummm... I wonder if Mrs.O purchased any with a little more Va-Va-Voom.
I will be anxiously awaiting another unveiling...
Amazing! I love when she incorporates underground, avante garde designers into her wardrobe and at the most unexpected moments. I took a peak at Mr.Kiledjian's Fall/Winter 2010/11 collection which gave an up close look at the scarlet and black feather print of the dress Mrs.O wore above. It is absolutely beautiful and the picture above doesn't do this print justice. All of his designs are indeed super sexy and powerful.
Though the cut of her dress was appropriately conservative to reflect the culture of the country she visited, it is very interesting that she chose a designer with such an in your face and empowering outlook on womens fashion and sexuality.
And for anyone interested I found this great interview with Kevork Kiledjian here:
http://www.lifestyleasia.com/articles/fashion_2/guilty-brotherhood-by-kevork-kiledjian-harvey-nichols_3332.htm?city=asia
And a short interview with he and his girlfriend, who is creative director of Guilty Brotherhood, from Elle magazine. I actually remember seeing this photo of the two of them in a past issue of Elle and thinking they looked like a cute couple.
http://www.elle.com/Fashion/Fashion-Spotlight/How-Do-I-Love-Thee/(imageIndex)/4/(play)/false
The President's trousers seem a bit long in this photo??
Wow! Great collection - where has this designer been hiding?
Really wonderful collection and it is indeed interesting that Mrs. O wore a dress from this very strong, feminine and sexy collection on an occasion that called for modesty and a more conservative look. Such creative thinking and dressing -- love it! I, too, hope she wears more Guilty Brotherhood in the months ahead.
Absolutely WOW! Love it. Thanks so much Mrs T for sharing. As you know I am in Europe and Lyon France is my family maternal stomping grounds. I am an artist and although I am no fashion expert I do know some designers in Paris and MIlano.
I missed this one and am so glad to discover him via this website.
I will do some further research when I have time and keep everyone posted. :)
I still love this look.
Absolutely beautiful and elegant!!!! Mrs. Obama is so self assured and it comes through in her hair styles, her clothing and her general demeanor. The country is so blessed to have her and the President.
Thanks for posting more about this dress. It's a gorgeous dress on Mrs. O.
Happy Birthday to the FLOTUS (Jan 18th) - How cool is it she turns 46 on the day the country is remembering MLK's birthday?!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/17/michelle-obamas-birthday_n_426199.html Surprise b/day dinner pictures: She wore this dress during the holidays.
Happy Birthday to Mrs. Obama!
They both have the most natural and sparkling smile in the world. The photo exposure is very "official", they stand stiff as a ramrod but the face and the smile of both full of so much joie de vivre, I love them ! Time for mourning is over, they must show we all must manage the business of life.
To my opinion, the tunique-dress fits perfectly Mrs O. : it seems that the designer KK is a kind of master of the pleas (plissés in french), he has got the sense of the "flou" (mousselines) and of the pleas, like the Number One Yves Saint-Laurent.
The dress Mrs O. wears is delicately spread in round at the belly, I really love this discreet feminine touch.
Wow! "Fashion Boy", thanks for the info. This designer is off the chain. I saw several designs that would work for Mrs. O including a black velvet tuxedo pantsuit and a fab light grey suit with a skirt. This designer spans the range from sexy/erotic to chic and sophisticated. Ladies make sure you check out the shoes under accesories. Also, I live in Philly and they sell his clothes at Joan Shepp. I may be buying my niece or my mom something from his collection soon.
Love the dress but the pants should have been straight legs. I usually love the uniquiness of our First Lady, but I would not have put her in those pants. Sorry, This is a first thumbs down for me.
Ms. O's fashion advisers got this one completely wrong and I'm surprised no one has noted this yet. The tunic ensemble Ms. O wore in Indonesia strongly resembled the Vietnamese national dress known as the 'aoi zai' or 'aoi dai.'Wearing a Vietnamese-inspired outfit upon arrival Indonesia was a major fashion faux-paux, culturally insensitive and ignorant. Its as if to say, hey we know this is Asian and that's pretty much all we know!