Michelle Obama chooses Vera Wang gown for China State Dinner

 First lady Michelle Obama chose a dress by a Chinese-American designer for Friday's White House dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Mrs. Obama wore a custom-made black, off-the-shoulder mermaid gown by Vera Wang Collection for the occasion. Fitted, with sheer sleeves, it skimmed the floor with its silk organza flounce. Mrs. Obama swept her long hair off to one side.

The first lady has worn Wang's designs before, winning raves for the draped, strapless, electric blue column she donned at The Kennedy Center Honors in 2011.

Inside Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci Heartfelt Tribute to New York

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Fashion shows can certainly be considered trite, but on a gorgeous evening in Manhattan, on a particularly emotional day for the city of New York, one could not helped but be moved by the awesomeness that was the Givenchy show. Of course the brand’s creative director, Riccardo Tisci, did not go it alone; he enlisted world renowned artist Marina Abramovic — who is a dear friend and resident New Yorker — to lead the artistic direction of the production. What did this entail? Students of her institute for performance art, dressed in black and white, were stationed throughout the elaborate set climbing stairs or holding branches in a trance-like state, which gave the setting an eerily calm feeling in what is typically a rather chaotic environment.