Such fashionable friends! The First Lady Michelle Obama and the most powerful force in fashion Anna Wintour embraced on Monday, May 5, with Wintour showing rare emotion and cracking smiles throughout the morning event.
Mrs. Obama, 50, arrived in New York City this week to pay tribute to the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue, 64. The First Lady attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Wintour's Costume Center at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.
PHOTOS: Michelle Obama at the WHCD
The unveiling took place on the morning of the 2014 Met Ball, which is held at the museum on Monday evening.
Obama, one of the most fashion-minded first ladies since the days of Jacqueline Kennedy, praised Wintour, who featured her on the covers of Vogue in March 2009 and April 2013. She opened the Costume Center wearing a forest green and cream floral printed Naeem Khan dress and told the crowd, "I'm here today because of Anna."
PHOTOS: The many faces of Anna Wintour
"I'm so impressed by Anna's contributions, not just to fashion but to this great museum," Mrs. Obama continued, referencing Wintour's work with the Met. "This center is for anyone who cares about fashion and how it impacts our culture and our history."
Wintour, who wore a Chanel dress for the occasion, has expressed her own admiration for FLOTUS in the past, saying in a 2009 speaking engagement at 92Y, "She emerged during the campaign as this enigmatic and strong woman with such great personal style… Mrs. Obama loves fashion. She isn't, like some people in Washington, frightened of it. She believes, as we do at Vogue, that to be an independent, working woman doesn't mean that you have to walk around with a brown paper bag on."
PHOTOS: Michelle Obama's stunning style
Monday's event played host to famous faces in the fashion industry including Zac Posen, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Alexander Wang, Victoria Beckham, and Sarah Jessica Parker.
The star-power at the Met will only increase with the arrivals for the white-tie Met Ball. Anticipated attendees include Lupita Nyong'o, Blake Lively, Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift, Allison Williams, and Naomi Watts.
This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Michelle Obama, Anna Wintour Embrace at Costume Institute Ribbon Cutting Ahead of New York City's Met Ball