US First Lady Michelle Obama (left) and China's First Lady Peng Liyuan in Beijing on Friday Photo: AFP

US First Lady Michelle Obama's clothes and fashion sense attracted a lot of media attention during her one-week visit to China, which focused on education and cultural communication.

Peng Liyuan, China's first lady, has also drawn praise for her glamour and style since accompanying her husband Xi Jinping on his maiden tour abroad as Chinese president last year.

As well as their influence in social issues, the two first ladies also play an important role in brand promotion through what they wear.

Michelle effect

Obama arrived in Beijing on Thursday in a Derek Lam dress and black boots designed by Jimmy Choo. Derek Lam and Jimmy Choo are well-known Chinese-American fashion designers.

Other designers favored by Obama include Chinese-American Jason Wu, Cuban-American Isabel Toledo, Thai-American Thakoon Panichgul and American designer Michael Kors. Media reports said the designer list chosen by the first lady showed the multicultural values advocated by the US.

As well as designer brands, Obama has brought popularity to some high street fashion firms.

On February 9, 2011, Obama was interviewed on The Today Show, wearing a $34.95 frock from fast fashion chain H&M. The frock sold out in the US soon after the show.

David Yermack, a professor of finance at the Stern School of Business of New York University, noticed Obama's influence on the fashion retailing industry and published a paper called The Michelle Markup in 2010, analyzing the first lady's impact on the stock prices of fashion companies.

Yermack studied Obama's 189 public appearances from November 2008 to December 2009 and estimated that her appearances boosted shareholder value by more than $2.6 billion.

On October 27, 2008, when she was a guest on the Tonight Show, Obama was asked about her clothes and she said she was wearing something by J.Crew.

The next day, the stock price of J.Crew jumped 8 percent. The effect remained through the following year and on December 31, 2009, J.Crew's stock price was 175 percent higher than on the day it was mentioned by Obama on the talk show.

However, fashion companies whose clothes are overlooked by the first lady on major public occasions see an average 0.4 percent stock price decline in the two days after the events, Yermack said in his paper.

He said that Obama's effect on the fashion industry was a case of "value redistribution" rather than "value creation."

Yermack also pointed out that the first lady's true impact could be greater as many fashion firms  are not listed, which means stock prices cannot be used to judge their increase in market value.

Peng's presence

Peng's style has also been widely noted in recent years. She was listed in Vanity Fair's annual International Best-Dressed List in 2013.

Media reports said Peng has a style that is both elegant and fashionable. Guangzhou-based Exception is one brand that has benefited from her patronage.

After Peng attracted much attention in a visit to Moscow in March 2013, Exception announced that Peng's clothing and handbags were designed by Ma Ke and jointly manufactured by Exception and Wuyong.

Exception was founded by designers Mao Jihong and Ma Ke in 1996. In 2006, Ma launched her own brand, Wuyong.

The announcement also said that Peng's clothing and handbags were custom-made and not for public sale.

However, this did not dampen people's desire to emulate Peng's choice. Exception handbags similar to Peng's sold out soon after, media reports said.

The first lady influence goes beyond just the brands she chooses.

After media reports revealed that Peng wore clothes from domestic brands, shares in other Chinese apparel firms also rose, with Shenzhen-listed Lancy Co and Zhonghe Co rising by the 10 percent daily limit on March 26, 2013.

It seems men can have this effect too.

During the visit to Russia, there were rumors online saying that Xi Jinping wore suits made by Shanghai-listed Dalian Dayang Trands Co, which led to a 10 percent rise in Dayang's share price on March 26, 2013, even though Dayang said it could not confirm the rumors.

On the day that Obama arrived in Beijing, MWuyong, the brand developed by designer Ma Ke, opened its official Sina Weibo account.

Fashion news website nofashion.cn reported on Thursday that the clothing Peng wore in a meeting with Obama might have been made by Wu­yong. But Wuyong refused to comment when contacted by the Global Times  Monday.

Many Chinese garment companies, including high-end labels such as Exception and JNBY, have high quality and a good reputation in the global market, Wang Zhuo, vice chairman of the China National Garment Association, told the Global Times Sunday.

But brands can be further boosted by the first lady celebrity effect, Wang noted. 

According to Yermack's study, brands worn by Obama have seen an average increase of 2.3 percent in their share prices, much more than the 0.5 percent average growth brought by most other celebrity endorsers.

Yermack attributed this to the prestige of the position of first lady, because unlike most celebrities, they are not paid to support a brand.

Technology also amplifies their influence, Jia Xi, an independent fashion buyer who studied luxury management in the US, told the Global Times Monday.

There are numerous fashion blogs and websites in the US following Obama's appearances every day and immediately posting the designer and retailer information for what she wears, Jia noted.

Some media reports have described Peng as the next Michelle Obama because of her good fashion taste, and Jia said she could boost the development of domestic apparel brands.