Michelle Obama Calls Dressing After the White House 'Freeing' in Becoming Doc

Michelle Obama is opening up about her style evolution.

On Wednesday, Netflix dropped, Becoming, a new documentary feature on the former first lady named after her best-selling memoir, during which Obama talks about the strategic statements she makes with fashion and how "freeing" it's been out of the White House spotlight.

“Now that we’re out of the White House, not to be viewed, judged and parceled by every other person on the planet yeah it is — it’s better,” the 56-year-old author and activist says with a laugh.

“It’s absolutely freeing,” she adds, as footage showing her most memorable book tour look — a long sleeve silk yellow wrap dress paired with iridescent gold over-the-knee boots — flashes across the screen.

At the time, the head-to-toe Balenciaga ensemble, which she wore during an on-stage interview with Sarah Jessica Parker at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, marked a noticeable departure from the more conservative styles she wore as FLOTUS.

"She is not a minimalist, like she’s not — like, hello!" Obama's stylist, Meredith Koop, says in Becoming.

During the documentary, the former first lady also explains that she realized fashion could help her make a statement early on in her career, saying she decided to "embrace the fact" that the world cared about her shoes.

"I’d make some impassioned speech and they would say, 'Oh she was wearing an interesting designer dress.' So a lot of it was — okay, let’s embrace the fact that people are looking at my shoes," Obama says. "Not just highlight me and the clothes but who we wanted to be as an administration: forward-thinking, embracing youth, embracing diversity."

She adds, "Fashion for a woman still predominates how people view you and that’s not fair, that’s not right. But it’s true. And that’s when fashion isn’t just fashion, it’s how you turn it into your tool rather than be a victim of it."

Obama continued to spotlight a diverse line-up of emerging designers time and time again during her tenure as FLOTUS, and even built lasting relationships with industry leaders like Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung and Tanya Taylor.

In 2009, Obama took a risk by choosing the then-up-and-coming Wu to create her inauguration ball gown. At the time, Wu was completely shocked, telling PEOPLE the gown came together with the help of four friends who sewed the flowers into the garment by hand. Today, the silk chiffon gown is part of the Smithsonian Museum's permanent collection.

“I was in awe when I saw her. I was emotional, I was amazed,” Wu told PEOPLE at the time. “I wanted the dress to reflect hope, fantasy, a dream [because] this is a pretty surreal moment we’re living in.”

The now-historic fashion moment signaled her commitment to championing young designers. She went on to wear Thom Browne, Thakoon, Brandon Maxwell and many more (including storied American brands too, such as Michael Kors, Carolina Herrera and Naeem Khan).