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President Nicolas Sarkozy of the French Republic came to speak at Columbia University’s World Leaders Forum today — and to the joyful surprise of the fashion-obsessed community (and, well, straight male population) on campus, his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was in attendance too. The event was overbooked and our very own Parisian and Menswear Editor, Martin Hamery (CC ‘13), was unable to get in for this reason, but our Features Director, Allison Malecha (CC ‘13), was able to snag a second row, center seat and our Co-Editor in Chief, Noel Duan (CC ‘13), was able to snag a fourth row seat — right behind Sarkozy and Bruni-Sarkozy! The former supermodel was sporting an elegant but simple chignon, plain conservative black top, and formfitting but classic gray pencil skirt.

While we may not all agree with the calls for change in Sarkozy’s speech — from the instigation of a new international monetary order to reformation of structure in the United Nations Security Council — we can tell that Sarkozy has a lot of charisma and belief in his ideas. He refused to read from a speech and prompted a lot of laughter from the audience, in spite of the political controversies happening in France and the economic and political problems around the world.

Eric Kutscher

For more information about Sarkozy’s actual speech, look to recaps from Bwog and Columbia Daily Spectator. He will be dining privately with President Barack Obama tomorrow — “Please extend to him our very best regards from his alma mater,” added our dear President Lee Bollinger. We’re doing everything we can to get back on Mr. President’s good side.

However, First Lady fashion is rarely over looked. In the United States, we venerate Michelle Obama and Jackie Kennedy Onassis, but Bruni-Sarkozy was one of the top twenty highest paid models in the world, back in the ’90s. Italian-born but Swiss boarding school-bred, she signed with City Models at age nineteen and has worked with designers and fashion houses such as Christian Dior, Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel, Versace, and Yves Saint Laurent. She is also a singer, with three albums to date. “You are my dope. More deadly than Afghan heroin. More dangerous than Colombian white powder,” is a selection from the lyrics of the song, “Ma Came” (“My Dope”). Dedicated to Sarkozy himself, in fact.

She is even going to be a guest editor for Madame Figaro, a French fashion magazine.

New York Magazine

Nowadays, she may wear ballet flats in order to not upstage her husband and grace her hair with tight buns, but once upon a time, this international cover girl let loose. And we’re glad that the First Lady of France knows how to have fun.

Noel Duan
Co-Editor in Chief