Vivienne Tam on dressing US first lady Jill Biden, what she wore for the inauguration, and meeting China’s first lady, Peng Liyuan

Vivienne Tam dressed US first lady Jill Biden for two occasions in 2015, and the designer recalls it being ‘very exciting’ and Biden as ‘friendly and gracious’

It was not Hong Kong-born Tam’s first brush with the White House – in 2012, Hillary Clinton invited the designer to attend a lunch in honour of Xi Jinping

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Vivienne Tam (left) has dressed US first lady Jill Biden on a number of occasions, including a state dinner at the White House, and a State Department lunch (pictured), honouring Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: Vivienne Tam

Published: 6:45am, 22 Jan 2021Updated: 9:00am, 7 Apr 2021

Back in 2015, during the Obama administration, Guangzhou-born, New York-based designer Vivienne Tam dressed the United States’ new first lady, Jill Biden, for two different occasions.

The first was a State Department lunch honouring Chinese President Xi Jinping and hosted by then Vice-President Joe Biden and then Secretary of State John Kerry; the second was a state dinner at the White House to welcome Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan.

Tam, who also attended the lunch, was contacted by Biden’s team a month before the events. “It was very exciting,” Tam says. “They wanted me to pick clothes that would be suitable for her.”

Not long after that, Biden and her stylist visited Tam’s studio in New York’s Garment District. “She was wonderful to work with,” says Tam. “She just wanted me to think of something that would look good on her. She was friendly and gracious, and we chitchatted like friends and took photos.

For the luncheon, Biden wore a black-and-white long-sleeved knitted jacquard dress. Photo: Vivienne Tam

“At the end, she said, ‘Just choose the pieces that best represent the brand and Vivienne Tam.’ She really placed her trust in me, asking me to decide – and that was a fantastic feeling and experience to have.”