Sasha Obama is the next style icon

When Natasha 'Sasha' Obama caught the attention of the Western world in 2009, she was just eight years old. Her father Barack had just become the first African-American president in the history of the United States of America. More than a president, a true symbol, and with him, inevitably, the whole family. They did not know it yet, but they would be in this difficult and important position for two terms, until 2016.

On the spotlight

Sasha was born in 2001 and turned 22 on 10 June. She is the second daughter of Barack and Michelle. She has an older sister, Malia, who was born in 1998. At the time of her father's inauguration, she was the youngest 'daughter of the White House' since John Fitzgerald Kennedy Junior, who was a toddler in 1961. Not only that, she was also the first White House resident to be born in the 21st century. A pioneer of Generation Z, more or less.

Privacy is key

Fame for her, who (like her sister) refuses to have public profiles on social media, is not something she seeks or wants, but a consequence of her father's profession, the most visible. An unavoidable and difficult fact to control, it has fallen between her teeth and seems to have created in her a kind of resistance to the world of showbiz and pop culture. For a good eight years she was critically eyed and judged not only by the opposition but by the whole world. Raised in the public eye, she disappeared as soon as she was able to decide for herself, or almost disappeared, rejecting any institutional and symbolic role.

Young love?

All we know about her is what we learn from her parents' social profiles, her statements and from paparazzi. We know, for example, that she graduated from the University of California on 13 May 2023 with a degree in sociology, along with another famous daughter, Salma of Jordan, daughter of Rania and Abd Allāh, who graduated with a degree in archaeology. We know that the Obamas' second daughter began her academic career at the University of Michigan before moving to California, perhaps to be closer to Malia. The older sister graduated from Harvard in 2021 and lives in Los Angeles, where she works as a writer for the series TV. There are rumours that the two sisters are now living together. Finally, we know that in 2022 she was involved with Clifton Powell Jr, the son of legendary actor Clifton Powell. It was Michelle who, in a classic act of a gossipy mother, revealed that her daughter was seeing someone, almost by accident. The news was later confirmed by the boy's father. However, it is not known if the two are still together.

If the girl lives her life as discreetly as possible, which is her right, her choice of clothes goes in the opposite direction, making her an icon for Generation Z (perhaps in spite of herself). Oversized dungarees, braids, retro glasses with chunky frames, rings galore, colourful trainers, crop tops and patterned skirts: Sasha's style is colourful, relaxed, youthful, unconventional, boho. We would not be surprised if it also turns out to be a true vintage style, made up of pieces carefully fished from Californian second-hand shops.

She's real

What makes her so popular and admired, however, is another, more subtle element. You can see from a distance that Sasha has dressed herself for her outings in Los Angeles. This would not be a big deal if it were not for the fact that all other it-girls, supermodels included, are accompanied by a stylist and often look too precise and trendy to be realistic, to be easily imitable. In a world where all famous girls are obsessed with perfection and performance, the strength of their style lies in its spontaneity. Her way of dressing is normal and realistic, but also personal, influenced by trends but filtered through her 22-year-old taste. This seems little, but it is important, especially in a time when younger people are fed up with artificiality and tend to experiment, also in terms of style.