Michelle Obama encourages fashion students

WASHINGTON — There were red velvet cupcakes, chicken taquitos and a mannequin front and center in the White House East Room on Wednesday as first lady Michelle Obama dished about her favorite designers before urging a group of students to get a good education — in fashion.

"Is this not cool?" Obama said as she took the stage at the front of the room filled with high school and college students. "I mean, come on. You're in the White House. There are some of the most impressive people in fashion here to teach you all … And there's food. What more could you ask for?"

The White House selected the 150 design students to participate in a first-of-its-kind fashion education workshop. The aspiring designers feasted on the White House fare after working with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Zac Posen and Spanx founder Sara Blakely, in morning breakout sessions throughout the mansion.

Wearing a sleeveless sapphire dress designed by student Natalya Koval, the first lady stressed the importance of students working on their craft.

"You have to practice it. You have to learn it. You have to study it," she said. "It's easy for us to look at the accomplished people in this room and think, 'Well, it must have been easy being Jason Wu (Obama's designer for both of her inaugural gowns).' Jason's like, 'Not so much.' "

Obama and fashion queen Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue, hatched the daylong workshop idea as a way of encouraging a new batch of would-be designers to focus on their education and to show them what it takes to succeed in the industry.

They followed up the morning sessions and lunch with a panel chat among design moguls, including Diane von Furstenberg and J.Crew's Jenna Lyons.

But before Obama took her seat to let the A-list panel get started, she pledged the president's support for the students in the room.

"Your president is proud of you," she said. "He knows this is going on. He's just a little busy."