Michelle Obama wears Preen for her last interview as First Lady, rounding off a stellar year for the British label

For her final one-to-one interview as First Lady, Michelle Obama turned to a label which has become a comfortable favourite during her husband"s time in office.Sitting down with Oprah Winfrey, Obama chose the botanical-meets-graphic signature of London-based designers, Preen by Thornton Bregazzi.

???We???ve dressed her nine times now which is just fantastic,??? designer Justin Thornton tells us of the coup, which will no doubt give the labelan added boost before Christmas.???She???s really embraced younger designers and smaller businesses which has been amazing.She???s educated people in print and colour, and taught people that you don???t have to follow the traditional rules for formal dressing??? he adds of Obama"s style legacy as she prepares to leave the White House in January.

The dress in question was Preen???s Audrey dress, a printed maxi style with tactile devor?? detailing, currently on sale (with 40% off) for ??1,017 on Net-A-Porter.First shown at the brand???s autumn 2016 catwalk show in February, its subtle colour palette offset perfectly against her host Winfrey???steal Brandon Maxwell sheath dress.

Preen"s Audrey dress, ??1,017, fromNet-A-Porter

The news rounds off a fantastic year for husband and wife design duo Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi, who marked the 20th anniversary of their business with celebrations throughout 2016.The Duchess of Cambridge gave them another major moment in the autumn, too, when she wore not one, but two of their fit-and-flare Finella dresses, choosing a red version on September???s Canada tour and returning to London???s Fenwickdepartment store to buy it again in black for an awards ceremony in November.

Thornton and Bregazzi will be hoping, no doubt, that the Duchess will soon behooked on their flattering, feminine silhouettesjust like Mrs Obama, who has been wearing their dresses since her 2011 visit to the UKwhen she stepped off the plane wearing a bold cobalt skirt suit by Preen.

???I got a picture through a while ago and she was wearing one of our outfits that she???d already worn two years earlier,???Thornton told us in anotherinterview this spring.???I thought that was amazing; my God, she must actually keep it in her wardrobe.???

Both he and Thea agree that their working relationship with Mrs Obama has been a fun(and fruitful) one, the highlight of which was being when they were invited to a gathering of the FLOTUS???s favourite designers at the White House last year.

"We were allowed two guests, so, of course, we took our mums,"Thea told us."She was saying to each of them, "I bet you???re one proud mom!"and they were like, "Yes, yes, we really are!""

The couple havestayed out of the ongoing debate amongst designers about dressingMelania Trump.Agrowing camp of designers- including Sophie Theallet, another of Obama"s go-tos and Tom Ford- have declared they will beboycotting the new First Lady.While others, such as Carolina Herrera, are taking a more pragmatic stance.

Michelle Obama fashion - Favourite designers - D

Preen knowas well as anyone who has ever dressed Mrs Obama that a FLOTUScan provide apowerful platformfor adesigner business, so perhaps they will be waiting to see what Trump"s first key fashion choices (like her inauguration gown) will looklike, before deciding which side of the fence they want to be on.One thing"s for sure though: we"re now well into the last few weeks of brilliant Michelle Obama-as-FLOTUS fashion moments.

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