Amnau Eele's Black Artists Association complaint about Michelle Obama's choice of dress designers spurs backlash

Full text - Chicago Tribune story -

—Wendy Donahue
January 28, 2009

A complaint that Michelle Obama has not worn any black designers' clothes, lodged by a New York woman identifying herself as co-founder of the Black Artists Association, has triggered a backlash of its own.

On Tuesday, one African-American designer distanced himself from the criticism by Amnau Eele, who claimed she has received death threats for making the comments, sent in an e-mail to the fashion press last Wednesday. And questions have begun to swirl about Eele and her group.

The trade publication Women's Wear Daily was the first to print a story about the statements last week, quoting Eele as saying: "If you are going to have [Cuban-American] Isabel Toledo do the inauguration dress, and Jason Wu [born in Taiwan] do the evening gown, why not have Kevan Hall, B Michael, Stephen Burrows or any of the other black designers do something too?"

The story spread virally—getting play everywhere from The Australian to The Huffington Post to New York magazine's Web site. In a follow-up in Women's Wear Daily on Tuesday, B Michael said Eele's statements don't represent his views.

Eele, identified by Women's Wear as a former runway model, did not respond to a request for details about herself and her group, which could not be found online.

This isn't the first time Eele's claims have made headlines. She and her artist/partner Clifton Mallery sued NBC in 2007, saying their work had been wrongfully copied on the show " Heroes." The lawsuit was dismissed.

Now, a story that started as a commentary on a post-racial America is beginning to look more like an episode of "Punk'd."