Sasha and Malia Thrust Into Fashion Roles IN the view of many American designers, Michelle Obama, as first lady, has a patriotic duty to step into the role of fashion plate. But is it fair to ask the same of her daughters, Malia and Sasha? In the week since election night, a lot of attention has been paid to the emerging styles of the Obama daughters. Though they had largely escaped fashion scrutiny during their father's first term, mostly out of respect for their privacy and their ages, Malia and Sasha, now 14 and 11, are the Obamas whom everyone wants to dress. And, in something of a change of policy, designers are telling the world. "The torch has been passed," said the designer Gregory Parkinson, whose press office last week sent out an e-mail blast to fashion reporters alerting them to a recent sighting of Sasha in a yellow patterned skirt he designed for Anthropologie. This is great exposure for a whole new generation of customers. When Chris Benz saw that Sasha was wearing a skirt he had designed (and after clearing it with the White House, he said), he posted the news on Twitter. Later came word that Malia's blue skirt was from ASOS, and her hot pink belt from Zara. A spokeswoman for ASOS said it would not actively promote the association. While label-checking the first daughters is likely to only get wilder over the next four years (just wait until prom season), it can also be risky for designers if it appears they are capitalizing on the girls as celebrities. Likewise, some magazine editors are careful to cover only events where they are in the public eye. But there is also interest in how their fashion choices play a role in the public perception of the Obama family. "What has always struck me about this first family is how incredibly well coordinated they are," said Susan Kaufman, the editor of People StyleWatch. Being as media savvy as they are, they know how to look good in front of the world. Sasha Charnin Morrison, the fashion director of Us Weekly, said that Michelle Obama had been clever to wear the same outfits on multiple occasions. So the significance was not lost on her (or just about anyone) that Sasha's Chris Benz skirt had previously been worn by Malia. "This has to be the best hand-me-down family I've ever witnessed," she said.