The news that Michelle Obama would host the Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards right in the middle of New York Fashion Week rankled a few fashion insiders.
2011 Fashion Design winner Gilles Mendel moved around the date of his showing to accomodate the awards luncheon, and FLOTUS favorites Prabal Gurung and Jason Wu, both award finalists with runway shows this past week, had to miss the event.
But the show must go on. Today FLOTUS delivered her address in the East Room of the White House to a crowd of architects, interior designers and fashion folk such as Tim Gunn.
The First Lady praised the creative types in the room for their hard work (while acknowledging some of the fashion absences):
These men and women have breathed new life into our homes and our workplaces, the clothes we wear, the products we use every day, and even the most basic ways we process information. A trip to the park is just a bit more refreshing. A book or a chart more readable. A commute to work more palatable -- unless you were stuck on the train today. (Laughter.) There are a few who didn’t make it.
To give her address, Obama showed off some creativity of her own, pairing a brown printed dress with a hint of sparkle on the skirt with dramatic, dangly earrings by Alexis Bittar that practically touched her shoulders -- a new look for the First Lady.
Check out pictures of Obama as well as Gunn below! What do you think of Michelle's look?
PHOTOS:
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