In her first speech since announcing an upcoming trip to meet Ukrainian refugees in Europe, First Lady Dr Jill Biden on Monday strongly condemned “Putin’s war” and praised “resilience “people affected by Russia’s brutal invasion.

The first lady was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Hours later, dozens of celebrities and other elites will descend on space for this year’s annual Met Gala.

Biden was invited by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour to speak at the unveiling of this year’s Met Gala costume show, In America: An Anthology of Fashion.

“Style helps us express things that can’t be put into words,” she said at the haute couture event.

The English teacher and first lady revealed that she had this sentiment in mind ahead of her husband’s State of the Union address in early March.

“A few months ago, as the president prepared for the State of the Union address, my mind was a world apart,” Biden said.

“Like so many Americans, I was transfixed by the news from Ukraine, the bombings, the parents crying over the broken bodies of their children in the streets.”

“As the State of the Union approached, I knew the only thing that would be reported about me was what I was wearing.”

And so that led Biden to have a small fabric sunflower – Ukraine’s national flower – sewn onto her “deep cobalt blue” dress.

“And that night, sitting next to the Ukrainian ambassador, I knew that I was sending a message without saying a word: that Ukraine was in our hearts and that we were on their side,” he said. she declared.

She was there to unveil the Met Museum Costume Institute’s Spring 2022 exhibition, In America: An Anthology of Fashion

The first lady received a standing ovation before and after her remarks

She then toured the exhibit with Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who invited her to speak on Monday.

Biden will come face to face with Ukrainian refugees who fled the Russian invasion this weekend, spending Mother’s Day with some of the millions displaced since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

“Earlier today I announced that at the end of this week I would be traveling to Romania and Slovakia to visit our troops and spend Mother’s Day with Ukrainian families displaced by Putin’s war. “said the first lady.

“As a mother myself, I can only imagine the grief the families are feeling. I know we may not share a language, but I hope to be able to convey, in way more than words, that their resilience inspires me, that they are not forgotten, and that all Americans are always with their sides.

The first lady will travel to Romania May 6-7 where she will meet with U.S. military personnel stationed there, Romanian government officials, U.S. Embassy staff, and aid workers and educators working with Ukrainian refugees. .

On Sunday, she will meet embassy staff, aid workers and refugees in Slovakia. Before leaving, she will meet members of the Slovak government on Monday.

She concluded her address to the Met with these words: “As we celebrate the designers and fashion who have shaped America’s very identity, I hope it inspires us all to keep learning.”

The new exhibit will feature historic garments such as the jacket George Washington wore at his inauguration (left) and a dress worn by Mary Todd Lincoln (right_

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‘Battle of Versailles’ piece designed by Tom Ford depicts a 1973 fashion showdown between five American designers and five French designers during a fashion show in the famous French palace

Other rooms were designed by various famous directors and artists

“I hope this will help us see the beauty and art that surrounds us every day. And above all, I hope it will remind us to be bold and courageous.

The packed house rose to a standing ovation for Biden at the end of his speech.

Even before celebrities packed the museum for their extravagant party, artists and the likes of Instagram chief Adam Mosseri and the platform’s director of fashion partnerships Eva Chen gathered at the Met’s Charles Engelhard Court for remarks. opening ceremony of the first lady.

Mosseri is one of the co-hosts of the Met Gala this year along with Wintour.

An entourage including interns from Wintour and the Met then accompanied Biden on a private tour of the exhibit, which this year includes historical artifacts like the jacket George Washington wore at his inauguration and the clothes Abraham Lincoln wore in. been assassinated.

The models are posed in scenes depicting American fashion over the years, having been created by Tom Ford, Martin Scorsese and Sofia Coppola.

During his Monday speech, Biden wore a $2,900 Tom Ford dress.

Biden spoke at the Met days before meeting with Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia this weekend (pictured: A Polish border policeman (L) carries the luggage of a Ukrainian refugee as she holds her baby after crossing the Ukrainian-Polish border in Poland with her children at the Kroscienko border crossing in eastern Poland on April 7)

A Ukrainian refugee baby waves from a minibus taking him and his mother further into Moldova after crossing the Ukraine-Moldova border at Palanca in southeastern Moldova on April 12