Michelle Obama’s New Book Celebrates Style & the Creatives Who Helped Shape Her Iconic Journey

Michelle Obama is back with another cultural moment, and this time she’s turning the spotlight on the artistry, intention, and creative excellence that helped shape one of the most recognizable style evolutions of our time. Her latest bestseller, The Look, is already making waves, climbing the Amazon Charts, hitting the New York Times Best Sellers list, and sparking a new wave of conversations about identity, beauty, and the people behind the scenes who make us shine.

Beautifully crafted with more than 200 photographs and intimate stories told in her own words for the first time, The Look takes readers on a journey from Michelle Obama’s early days in public life all the way to her bold, free, post–White House era. But what makes the book resonate so deeply with readers is how she centers the hands, hearts, and talents of the team that helped define her look and, in turn, a cultural era.

Names we know. Names we should know even more. And names we’re proud to claim.

There’s celebrity hairstylist Johnny Wright, whose magic helped cement some of Obama’s most unforgettable looks. There’s also DMV stylists Yene Damtew and Njeri Radway, whose artistry and steady hands helped care for, guide, and elevate the First Lady’s signature styles. All three are spotlighted throughout the book, recognized for their influence, expertise, and the cultural power of Black hair care.

Obama doesn’t hold back about what their work has meant to her. And she makes it clear that her relationship with style long predates the global spotlight. 

“Long before I knew that my look might mean something to others, I spent many years figuring out what it meant to me. Whether it was picking out a back-to-school dress as a young girl, going to prom in a gown designed by me and hand sewn by my mother, or walking across my college campus in braids and denim, those first style choices taught me that appearance and power are often intertwined. How you show up can be just as important as what you say or do. Over time, I learned that confidence isn’t something you’re given. It’s something you have to choose, every day,” Obama reflected in a social post.

That authenticity echoes through all her posts about the book, reflecting on her time in the White House and on how her look was politicized at every turn. What at times felt burdensome has now empowered Mrs. Obama to transform that narrative purposefully, allowing others to take their power back as well. 

“During our family’s time in the White House, the way I looked was constantly being dissected – what I wore, how my hair was styled. For a while now, I’ve been wanting to reclaim more of that story, to share it in my own way.” She continued, “I’m thankful to be at a stage in life where I feel comfortable expressing myself freely — wearing what I love and doing what feels true to me.”

Her posts over the following weeks only deepened that gratitude. Shouting out the “Trifecta” of her glam team, celebrating independent bookstores, and uplifting the stylists who helped her walk in her power, Obama made it clear. This book is a love letter not just to fashion, but to the community that held her up.

Her tribute to Damtew especially struck a chord. “For years, @YeneDamtew has been there to help me care for and style my hair. She’s guided me as I revealed my natural curls to the world. Yene has taught so many of us that our hair holds memory, meaning, and power and that the hands that care for it carry their own kind of wisdom.”

For Black women especially, The Look captures experiences we know in our bones. The shift from perms to twist-outs. The politics of hair in the workplace. The first time your style matched the woman you were becoming. Obama asks those same questions in her posts: “What was the first moment you truly felt comfortable in your own skin? What ways have you seen the power in how you show up?”

But the book isn’t just reflective. It’s also a celebration. A reminder that clothes, hair, and makeup aren’t shallow accessories but tools of expression, agency, joy, and cultural storytelling. Obama writes, “It’s so easy to trivialize what we wear or how we look as frivolous. But these decisions matter.”

With the help of longtime stylist Meredith Koop and makeup artist Carl Ray, Obama brings readers behind the scenes of legendary moments and reveals the intentionality threaded into every cardigan, ball gown, braid, and bold suit. She reminds us that style can be political, personal, and freeing all at once.

“The Look is so much more than a book about style,” she wrote ahead of the release. “It’s a reflection of a lifetime of learning how to show up as my authentic self, even as I’ve continued to change and grow.”

For anyone who has navigated identity, reinvention, or the journey to self-confidence, Obama’s words feel like a warm nod from someone who’s been there and is still learning, too. The book is already inspiring conversations, with readers reflecting on their own style eras and sharing how they learned to love their hair, their bodies, and their evolving selves. Obama is encouraging those conversations to move beyond the comments section and into living rooms, group chats, and holiday gatherings.

With a bevy of BTS photos, never-before-seen looks, and the voices of the creatives who helped define a global icon’s signature aesthetic, The Look gives Michelle Obama her full fashion narrative back. And in doing so, it uplifts the stylists and artists whose contributions to culture deserve just as much light.

You can grab The Look wherever books are sold. It’s more than a fashion book. It’s a cultural archive, a celebration of Black beauty, and a reminder that when we show up as ourselves, everything shifts.

Cover photo: Michelle Obama’s New Book Celebrates Style & the Creatives Who Helped Shape Her Iconic Journey/Photo credit: Michelle Obama/Instagram/VogueMagazine