When Donald Trump was first elected president, his wife Melania was ‘shunned’ by major fashion houses wary of being associated with his ‘toxic’ politics.
Former fashion model Melania ended up wearing a powder blue cashmere dress and bolero from American designer Ralph Lauren to her husband’s inauguration in January 2017 – one of the few designers who offered to create an outfit out of respect for the office of the presidency. How times have changed.
The Mail on Sunday understands that Melania, 54, is being inundated with offers of free designer clothes from almost all the major US fashion houses and European couture icons, including Versace and Christian Dior, ahead of her husband’s inauguration on January 20.
Toni Holt Kramer, founder of the Trumpettes support group and a close friend of both Mr Trump and his wife, said: “Things are very different this time. When President Trump was first elected in 2016, Melania was treated very poorly indeed.
“People spoke out against her and refused to dress her. She was shunned and treated terribly, but acted with nothing but class. It must have been hard for her. Now people are begging to dress her.”
Jeremy Scott, former creative director of fashion house Moschino and a favorite of stars such as Beyonce and Lady Gaga, said before Trump’s first inauguration that he would “never” design for Melania.
‘Evidently [Melania] looks great, but I can’t separate it from who she is. I don’t know Melania,” he said.
And French designer Sophie Theallet – whose clients include Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Lopez – wrote an open letter calling on her fellow designers not to associate with Melania, saying: ‘I will not participate in dressing in any way or dealing with the next First Lady. The rhetoric of racism, sexism and xenophobia unleashed by her husband’s presidential campaign is incompatible with the shared values we live by.”
Melania Trump was shunned in 2017 by fashion houses wary of being associated with her husband’s ‘toxic’ politics
Melania at her husband Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017. This time the former fashion model is inundated with offers to dress her
Donald and Melania Trump at a New Year’s Eve party in Mar-a-Lago, Florida
While Melania’s final choice of inauguration outfit is still up in the air, the MoS understands that her longtime designer friend Herve Pierre prefers an American brand.
He recently told American fashion bible Woman’s Wear Daily that designers were so reluctant to offer Melania clothes during her husband’s first semester that he bought her clothes “off the shelf.”
Melania’s sister Ines is one of the few people she confides in and the pair have been ‘considering’ outfits this week during fitting sessions in Melania’s private quarters at Mar-a-Lago, the Trump family home in Florida.
Ms Holt Kramer said: ‘Honestly, no one knows who Melania will wear, but it will be an outfit that will go down in history.
‘The atmosphere is very different this time. The people overwhelmingly voted for President Trump, so of course everyone wants to dress Melania.
Melania accompanied her husband to the state funeral of former US President Jimmy Carter in Washington on Thursday
Donald Trump and Melania after his election victory in November. Melania’s outfit for this month’s inauguration is believed to be “up in the air.”
‘She is very much her own woman, with impeccable taste. I think she will go for an American designer to send a strong message that America is back. One thing’s for sure: she’ll look fantastic.’
David Adler, founder of the Washington High Society magazine Washington Dossier, told MoS: “Melania has emerged from her husband’s shadow. She has a best-selling memoir and signed a $40 million documentary deal.”
‘Washington is no longer a foreign country to her. She has gained the confidence to be her own person. She knows the game.”
Mr. Adler says Melania wants to emulate the fashion legacy of former First Lady Jackie Kennedy. “She’s trying to get the Jackie Kennedy mantle, to be the Jackie Kennedy of the MAGA world,” he added.