Melania Trump: life as endless fashion shoot
"Beautiful, charismatic, extraordinary, modest and intelligent" - this is how fans describe the wife of the current US President Melania Trump, according to a YouGov study. The style of the first lady, on which designer Pierre Herve is working, contributed to the creation of such an image. Yes, not a stylist, but a designer: in the past he collaborated with Oscar de la Renta and Bill Blast, and also served as creative director at Vera Wang and Carolina Herrera. Hillary Clinton was a frequent client of Oscar de la Renta, and Laura Bush was Carolina Herrera, so Herve often controlled the fitting process, and then began to independently select images for the hostesses of the White House.
“Melania Trump is a different story, although we have never met her before: she was looking for a stylist, studied my portfolio and noted that I was not a stylist. "More like a designer," I said. She was satisfied with this option because she wanted to order several dresses, including a dress for the inauguration, "Pierre Herve said in an interview with.
Donald and Melania Trump at the inaugural ball, 2017 © AARON P. BERNSTEIN / GETTY IMAGES
Herve Pierre's off-shoulder, high-cut, ivory dress, which later made its way to the National Museum of American History, became a convincing point in breaking the clichés of the immigrant model, socialite and carefree Fifth Avenue resident. Melania's wardrobe moved to the White House, and the place of silk combinations, provocative mini and natural fur coats in it was taken by classic coats, pantsuits and dresses below the knee length, which became a field for experimentation rather than the result of blind adherence to protocol. Pierre Herve uses reds, yellows and purples, leather, denim and PVC. He loves references to military uniforms as one of the simplest yet most effective ways to create a power dressing look.
1 of 10 Melania Trump at Ralph Lauren at the inauguration of the President of the United States, 2017 © instagram.com/flotus At Ralph Lauren during a visit to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 2018 © instagram.com/flotus At Louis Vuitton meeting with the President and the first lady of South Korea, 2019 © instagram.com/flotus At Ralph Lauren meeting with the wife of the Prime Minister of Canada, Sofia Trudeau, 2017 © instagram.com/flotus At Fendi meeting with the first lady of Colombia, Maria Juliana Ruiz, 2019 © instagram.com/flotus At Carolina Herrera during a visit to Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, 2019 © instagram.com/flotus At Givenchy at a reception in honor of his visit to the UK, 2019 © instagram.com/flotus At Valentino, meeting with the Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, 2019 © instagram.com / flotus At Altuzarra meeting with the President and First Lady of Turkey, 2019 © instagram.com/flotus At Carolina Herrera during a trip to Delhi, 2020 © instagram.com/flotus
In one such look - a modified black Burberry jacket - Melania Trump appeared at the president's address to the nation in February 2019. Viewers considered the choice of such an outfit, and even the British brand, as a statement regarding Brexit. “I think that first ladies are like members of the royal family in that they rarely speak out on this or that topic. Clothes speak for them, and it's not just about 'I like this dress', but about a whole system involving stylists and specialists in positioning, communications and marketing,”commented Moya Luckett, professor at New York University and media historian …
The first lady's stylist himself urged not to look for a hidden meaning in her clothes: “In the process of searching for the right image, I practically do not pay attention to the designer. The designer of this coat is Burberry. But it could have been someone else. It has nothing to do with England or Brexit. If I had to think about all this when choosing dresses, I would go crazy. I don't have time for this."
1 of 5 Burberry speaks at Wapuolopen, PA, during Donald Trump's campaign 2020 © Lev Radin / Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty Images At Dior ahead of Donald Trump's campaign debate in Nashville, Texas 2020 © Chris Kleponis / Sipa / Bloomberg via Getty Images At Alexander McQueen before speaking at the 2020 Republican National Assembly © Michael Reynolds / EPA / Bloomberg via Getty Images At Valentino at the ceremony to nominate Donald Trump as presidential candidate, 2020 © Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images In Dolce & Gabbana ahead of Donald Trump and Joe Biden's first debate © Win McNamee / Getty Images
However, in an era of new ethics, when the public can offend or outrage even the most unassuming outfit, how it is perceived should be given the same attention as how stylish it will look on the pages of the press and what contribution it will make to defining the image of the first lady. Moreover, Melania had several fashionable faux pas: remember at least the Zara jacket with the inscription "I really don't care, do u?" (“I really don't care, do you?”), In which she went to a detention center for children of illegal migrants on the border with Mexico, or a cork white helmet worn during a trip to Kenya. This headdress is associated with the oppression of Africa as it was worn by slave owners in the past.