White House Honors National Design Award Winners

First Lady Michelle Obama today hosted a White House luncheon for the winners and finalists of the 2010 National Design Awards, ahead of the official ceremony in New York on Oct. 14. Before the luncheon, design winners and finalists met with more than 400 local high school students at a teen design fair that won praise from the First Lady.

The 11th anniverary award honorees included lifetime achievement winner Jane Thompson, founding editor of I.D. magazine, her former colleague Ralph Caplan, and a range of winners and near-winners in the categories of corporate and institutional design (including Oxo), architecture, fashion design, interaction design, interior design, landscape design, and product design.

Mrs. Obama, by the way, is wearing Isabel Toledo, not the winner of the fashion category, Rodarte, which she has worn in the past. She also said was thrilled to sit with Project Runway's Tim Gunn. The awards are sponsored by the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and Target.