Vogue editor Anna Wintour made a rare speaking appearance at the 92nd Street Y in New York City earlier this week. Asked about putting Michelle Obama on the cover of the iconic fashion glossy, Wintour replied,

She emerged during the campaign as this enigmatic and strong woman with such great personal style. I think at the beginning, she had quite a hard time capturing the hearts of America, and it was interesting to all of us to see how that changed … Mrs. Obama loves fashion. She isn’t, like some people in Washington, frightened of it. She believes, as we do at Vogue, that to be an independent, working woman doesn’t mean that you have to walk around with a brown paper bag on … We always felt that Washington rather looked down on us or didn’t understand us or wasn’t quite ready for us, and now we have an administration that supports us.