When Donald Trump was first elected President his wife Melania was ‘shunned’ by major fashion houses wary of being associated with his ‘toxic’ brand of politics.
Former fashion model Melania ended up wearing a £5,500 powder blue cashmere dress and bolero by the American designer Ralph Lauren to her husband’s January 2017 inauguration – 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 Melania, 54, is being swamped by offers of free designer clothing from nearly every major US fashion house and European couture icons including Versace and Christian Dior in advance 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 around. When President Trump was first elected back in 2016, Melania was treated very badly indeed.
‘People spoke out against her and refused to dress her. She was shunned and treated appallingly 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 favourite of stars such as Beyonce and Lady Gaga famously said before Mr Trump’s first inauguration that he would ‘never’ design for Melania.
‘Obviously [Melania] looks great, but I can’t divorce 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 urging her fellow designers not to associate with Melania stating: ‘I will not participate in dressing or associating in any way with the next First Lady. The rhetoric of racism, sexism and xenophobia unleashed by her husband’s presidential campaign are 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’ brand of politics
Melania at her husband Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration. This time around the former fashion model is thought to be swamped with offers to dress her
Donald and Melania Trump at a New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago, Florida
While Melania’s final choice of inauguration outfit is still ‘up in the air’, the MoS understands her longtime designer friend Herve Pierre is favouring a US brand.
He recently told American fashion ‘bible’ Woman’s Wear Daily that designers were so reluctant to offer Melania clothing during her husband’s first term he bought clothes ‘off the rack’ for her.
Melania’s sister Ines is one of the few people she confides in and, it is understood, the pair have been ‘considering’ outfits this week during fittings in Melania’s private quarters at Mar-a-Lago, the Trump family home in Florida
Ms Holt Kramer said: ‘Truth be told no one knows who Melania will wear but it will be an outfit which will go down in history.
‘The mood is very different this time around. People have voted overwhelmingly in favour of President Trump so, of course, everyone wants to dress Melania.
Melania accompanying her husband at the state funeral of former US president Jimmy Carter in Washington on Thursday
Donald Trump and Melania following his election win in November. Melania’s choice of outfit for the inauguration this month is believed to be ‘up in the air’
‘She is very much her own woman, with impeccable taste. I believe she will go for an American designer to send a strong message that America is back. One thing is for sure, she will look fabulous.’
David Adler, founder of Washington high society magazine Washington Dossier, told the MoS: ‘Melania has come out from under her husband’s shadow. She has a best-selling memoir and has signed a $40 million documentary deal.’
‘Washington is no longer a foreign land for her. She has gained the confidence to be her own person. She knows the game.’
Mr Adler says Melania seeks 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.