De la Renta: Dressing first lady not top priority

International designer Oscar de la Renta waves at a news conference in Mexico City, Friday, March 22, 2013. De la Renta is in Mexico City for a Friday evening fashion gala where he will present his Spring/Summer 2013 collection. AP

MEXICO CITY— Fashion designer Oscar de la Renta has been a favorite of many U.S. first ladies, including Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton. But one name is still missing from his list: Michelle Obama.

De la Renta says he is not worried about not having Obama on his list of celebrity clients because for him what matters is dressing everyday women.

De la Renta says that “an anonymous woman on the street is the woman who influences fashion today, not a movie star or a first lady.”

Obama has appeared on many best-dressed lists and De la Renta has been among the few who have criticized her choices, specifically her decision to wear a sweater when she met Queen Elizabeth II in 2009. He said that he had said nice things about her and made the comment to avoid “sounding like a package of sugar.”

“It is a relation that began poorly and I think it will end the same way,” the designer said Friday during a Mexico City fashion gala.