Malia Obama’s Red Carpet Debut Is Cool Girl Casual

Malia Obama’s Thursday evening was one for the history books. Last night, the former First Daughter staged her directorial and red carpet debut all in one evening as she stepped out at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Obama, under the name Malia Ann, wrote and directed the short film The Heart, which debuted at the festival and will screen throughout the week. The 25-year-old cut a chic figure in a longline gray coat, jeans, and a loose-fitting button-down shirt. We’ve caught glimpses of Obama’s post-White House cool girl style via tabloids recently, so it makes sense that she’s done much of the same on the step-and-repeat. Sundance is one of the more casual events on the festival calendar, too, and attendees are more likely to show up in relaxed separates than elaborate ball gowns. Still, Obama managed to add some flair to her look with a pair of standout accessories.

Nothing says “I know what I’m doing” quite like a statement shoe—and Obama’s mauve knee-length platform boots certainly brought an understated edge to things. Her razor-thin knit scarf might’ve been the most on-trend item, though. The resurgence of the skinny scarf has been on a steady rise among fashion girls in recent months, with everyone from Bella Hadid to Kaia Gerber—and now, a former First Daughter—all co-signing the early aughts trend.

The Heart is an 18-minute short film centered around a grieving son whose mother left him an unusual request in her will. “The film is about lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret, but I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in those things,” she said in a “Meet the Artist” interview, adding, “We hope you enjoy the film and it makes you feel a bit less lonely, or at least reminds you not to forget about the people who are.”

Like her parents (whose production company Higher Ground inked a major deal with Netflix in 2018), Obama has shown an interest in Hollywood. She previously worked on Girls and Extent, and is credited as a writer on Donald Glover’s limited series Swarm. Needless to say, it’ll likely be sooner rather than later when we see Malia Ann stage another appearance on the red carpet.