Melania Trump Reenters Washington in Her American Fashion Armor

Melania Trump with President-elect Donald Trump at the White House ahead of the inaugural ceremonies on Monday.
12:54 JST, January 21, 2025
Melania Trump has a new look.
As the incoming first lady walked into St. John’s, the Episcopal church in Lafayette Square, she cut the figure of a mafia widow or high-ranking member of an obscure religious order, and a bit of “My Fair Lady.” She wore a sharply tailored navy coat, with a soft white silk crepe blouse peeking out from beneath the collar, and a huge navy boater trimmed with a white band. In a rare showing of bipartisanship from the fashion industry, which had very publicly thrown its weight behind Kamala Harris, the ensemble is by American designer Adam Lippes, whose quiet and meticulous clothes are worn by socialites such as Deeda Blair and Princess Eugenie of Britain. The hat is by Eric Javits.
“The tradition of the presidential inauguration embodies the beauty of American democracy and today we had the honor to dress our first lady, Mrs. Melania Trump,” Lippes said in a statement. “Mrs. Trump’s outfit was created by some of America’s finest craftsmen and I take great pride in showing such work to the world.”
In what’s becoming a style signature, Melania Trump yanked the hat down over her head, the brim casting an elusive shadow over her face and shielding her eyes.
It’s a striking contrast from the look she crafted for the inauguration in 2017, working then as now with her stylist, French designer Herve Pierre, and American designer Ralph Lauren. That ensemble sought to conjure the polished optimism of Jackie Kennedy: a powder blue cashmere dress with a matching bolero and opera gloves. It was approachable and joyful, if a bit rich.

Melania Trump wore a powder blue cashmere dress with a matching bolero on Inauguration Day in 2017.
For her second round as first lady, the fashion game – the tool she brandishes most often and most forcefully, even if the public sometimes struggles to divine her sartorial messages – is likely to be one of steely, precise armor, of clothes with brash and exacting tailoring. For the past year, she has worn a wardrobe of mostly black, but this does not seem intended to make her disappear into the background. At events this past weekend, Melania Trump wore cape coats by Saint Laurent and Dior, as well as Louboutin boots, a Dolce & Gabbana shirt and a sequined skirt by Carolina Herrera, the American label designed by Wes Gordon. (A representative for the label said that it does not comment on purchases made by clients.)
Melania Trump’s choice of an American designer at such a public event marks a new era for her acceptance in the domestic fashion sphere. Lippes sidestepped politics by underscoring his American manufacturing bona fides. And after many in the fashion world shunned the Trump world in the first term, more designers have demonstrated a new willingness to play ball: Oscar de la Renta, designed by Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim (whose label Monse went viral when Michelle Obama wore the brand at the Democratic National Convention in summer), made looks worn by Ivanka Trump and Usha Vance this weekend. There were other showings of support from the fashion industry: Bernard Arnault, the billionaire owner of LVMH, sat with members of his family near the front of the church at St. John’s on Monday morning, and he joined the group onstage at the inauguration in the Rotunda shortly thereafter.
The first lady has a reputation for inscrutability, but it is clear that over the next four years, she intends to strike a severe, unflappable note. If nothing else, her designer clothes will protect her.
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