WASHINGTON — President Obama’s campaign took some ribbing when it enlisted top New York fashion designers to craft high-culture Obama-themed purses and scarves — but ended up laughing all the way to the bank.
The program, dreamed up by Vogue editor Anna Wintour and called “Runway to Win,” raised more than $40 million by hawking $45 Marc Jacobs T-shirts, $95 Thakoon Panichgul scarves, and $75 Tory Burch handbags at glitzy fund-raisers and on the campaign Web site.
Wintour and Scarlett Johansson launched the first fashion-themed event right before New York Fashion Week.
“That ended up bringing in just north of $40 million,” campaign manager Jim Messina told BusinessWeek, speaking of the overall runway program.
The Tory Burch bag featured Obama’s name printed multiple times on a black bag with the “O” in red. The Jacobs T-shirt said: “I vote Obama” with a circular print that resembled a campaign button or “I voted” sticker.
A Derek Lam-designed bag had red and purple geometric shapes — a far cry from the T-shirts and bumper stickers of campaigns past.
Wintour co-hosted a second fashion-themed event in Chicago with Chanel Iman.
The Republican National Committee lambasted Team Obama for the events with a Web video that ended with the kicker: “Watching the Obama campaign host a ritzy NYC fashion show while 12 million Americans remain out of work? Priceless.”
And the Obama campaign was sensitive to the criticism at the time. The president did not show up at the fashion event and the press was barred.
The Obama campaign didn’t respond to requests for information on which items sold the best, and Messina didn’t distinguish between how much was raised at the fashion fund-raisers and online.
In recent comments to Britain’s Telegraph, Wintour — one of Obama’s top campaign bundlers — dug in her heels and cast the election as a defeat over Republican money.
“It’s no secret that I worked very hard for the president this campaign,” she said.
“And it’s very rewarding to see that money can’t buy the White House, which is what the Republicans were trying to do with all those hundreds of millions of dollars that the super PACs were raising. I’m so grateful that the president will have a second term.”
The campaign also aggressively hawked an array of tchotchkes, including Obama car magnets and Joe Biden beer cozies that said “Cheers, Champ.”
And who knows? Maybe Republicans might try selling their own flashy swag.
The signature blue fleece jacket that New Jersey Gov. Christie wore while visiting shore communities ravaged by Hurricane Sandy has become a big hit. His wife, Mary Pat, is considering auctioning it off to the highest bidder to help Sandy relief efforts.