Many admire Mrs. Obama's fashion sense, and she helped open a new costume center with some of the biggest names in fashion.
Anna Wintour of Vogue calls Mrs. Obama the First Lady of fashion, so it's fitting that Mrs. Obama helped cut the ribbon for the new $40 million Anna Wintour Costume Center.
Ralph Lauren, Diane von Furstenberg, Jason Wu, Zac Posen and the first lady are all at the Metropolitan Museum of Art--where the Costume Institute has been redone and is now named for Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue.
First lady Michelle Obama, who cut the ribbon on the new Anna Wintour Costume Center, spoke warmly of Wintour's impact on causes she championed.
"I'm so impressed by Anna's contributions not just to the fashion industry but to the many causes she shares and cares about particularly this great American museum."
Anna's costume galas have helped raise 125 million dollars for the museum and crowds have been packing into recent exhibitions.
On Thursday "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" opens. He began with hats in the 1920s and even designed what may be the first down jacket. But it was his gowns that made him famous. Their details and construction beautifully highlighted with real time cameras at the new costume center. These pieces may inspire future designers like the students who attended the ribbon cutting.
"I never thought I'd be able to meet the first lady or Anna Wintour for that matter it's really inspiring to actually push forward for me," said Ramon Amiami Gomez.
For Crockett Henderson it was the people he met that impressed him. "Hearing the first lady was really a privilege but also to meet Anna Wintour and see Donatella Versace and all those other people it was surreal," he said.
It's the young people who come to the costume center who may be the future of fashion.
"One day you can be just like the legendary designers who are here today one day you could be a leader in the fashion industry or in any industry you choose," said Michelle Obama.
And Anna Wintour didn't speak Monday, but she seemed quite moved by the ceremony. Of course Monday night is her big gala, and this year men are required to wear tails instead of tuxedos. Woman will be in gowns, a little bit of old world glamour to celebrate the new space.
