Michelle Obama’s Tailor, Christy Rilling, Is Launching a Bespoke Collection

Michelle Obama’s Tailor, Christy Rilling, Is Launching a Bespoke Collection

The concept of idle hands is a foreign one to Christy Rilling, “tailor to the stars.” Ever since she can remember, this Chicagoan has been driven by a constant need to make things. Her latest creation is an 11-look bespoke collection consisting of skeleton pieces (bustiers, slips, crinolines), as well as day and night looks for discerning customers. “The idea behind this is to help the clients who can’t really see through a sketch,” Rilling explains. “It’s supposed to open the doors and make it easier for people to see.”

Rilling was seven when her own eyes were opened to the joys of sewing by a chic French neighbor. “I just loved it, and that was it!” she says. After making prom dresses for her high school friends, at 18, Rilling moved to New York where she studied costume design and theater arts at FIT and SUNY Purchase. Post-graduation, she worked in film, but her need to create led her quickly into music videos, where she met Tabitha Simmons. The stylist’s response to Rilling’s knack for whipping up headpieces in a van? “Stay with me, please.”

Simmons was generous with her connections, and the tailor soon found herself always busy. Much of her time was spent traveling with Tonne Goodman for Vogue’s cover shoots. This was at the moment when celebrities started becoming cover girls, Rilling recalls, and “on set it was complicated in terms of tailoring; [seeing what I could do,] the stars would all want me to come home with them.” Her studio (where, incidentally, the artist Laurie Simmons shot these look book pictures) quickly became a full-service operation, doing everything from tailoring pajamas to making red-carpet gowns and Halloween costumes. Though Rilling and her team rack up a lot of frequent flier miles attending to clients’ needs, everything is proudly made in New York.

In 2009 Rilling started spending a lot of time in Washington, D.C. After someone at the magazine (“I’m still not sure really who it was,” admits Rilling) passed her name on to Michelle Obama’s office, she became the First Lady’s personal tailor. Rilling still works for the family and has altered and created looks for the Becoming book tour. “With her years of experience, her new line of custom pieces will be a breath of fresh air for women everywhere,” Obama wrote in a statement. “I’ve always appreciated the incredible artistry in all of Christy’s work. Her attention to detail and master tailoring has always left me feeling confident and beautiful, no matter what I’m wearing.”

Rilling’s first bespoke offering doesn’t bend to trends; it’s composed of pieces that play on those the tailor makes “on repeat,” as well as looks that can’t be found from other designers. Having been “in everyone’s closet since I started this business, I feel like I have an idea of what women want,” says Rilling. “People love sleeves, people love pockets, people love length.” Rilling explains that her designs start from a love of textiles and, of course, her amazing clients—women with star power and confidence who, says the tailor, “have always wanted to be special.”

You’ll never find them wearing the same dress as someone else at a party. Nor are they likely to be in the flashiest of frocks. While Rilling’s blue coat-gown with a white tree print is pretty spectacular in a head-turning way, Rilling believes in minimalism. “I love women,” she says, “so I want [them] to feel beautiful in the clothing, [rather than] feel like they need to shock someone.”

Originally Appeared on Vogue