Anna Wintour is becoming quite the fashionable fixture onPresident Obama's campaign team this election season.
The Vogue editrix hit Chicago on Tuesday - flanked by supermodels Iman and Chanel Iman, designer Rachel Roy and Obama campaign manager Jim Messina - for an evening of haute fund-raising atOprah Winfrey's Harpo Studios.
Wintour was on hand to preside over the Windy City debut of the "Runway to Win" collection, a line of Obama-themed clothes and accessories by designers like Prabal Gurung, Jason Wu, Marc Jacobs, Beyoncé & Tina Knowles, Tory Burch, Tracy Reese and Narcisco Rodriguez - several of whom are favorites of First Lady Michelle Obama.
Tickets ran from $150 for a guest pass to sip cocktails and shop the collection to $1,000 for a VIP package, including a photo reception with Wintour and Iman (aka Mrs. David Bowie) and a limited edition bag, to $2,500 for access to the show, the reception and an exclusive dinner party at Oprah's Harpo headquarters. Donations benefited the Obama Victory Fund, according to a dedicated page on Obama's website.
The "Runway to Win" line is also being promoted on the site, with most tops, bags and accessories going for under $100 - a much lower price point than those designers' creations typically command.
Wintour has been ramping up her involvement, and her visibility, in the president's reelection effort of late. Proving she's good for far more than dispensing fashion tips to FLOTUS, Vogue's longtime editor-in-chief has emerged as one of President Obama's top boldfaced bundlers, raising over $500,000 for his second run on the White House.
The British-born Wintour's rising profile in the American political arena has stirred up rumors that the 62-year-old fashion doyenne could be in the running to become America's next ambassador to the United Kingdom, replacing the outgoing Louis Susman. However, an individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap that Wintour is happy at her current job.
Tuesday's summit for Chicago-area fashionistas was a repeat of a "Runway to Win" campaign event co-hosted by Wintour and Scarlett Johansson in New York on February 7. On Thursday, Wintour will return to Manhattan for yet another fund-raiser, this time with the high-end asking price of $40,000 per guest to join Barack and Michelle Obama and Sarah Jessica Parker at the "Sex and the City" star's home.
