Melania Trump Advocates for American Fashion Leadership While Wearing European Brands | Vanity Fair

First lady Melania Trump spoke at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, this morning as her gown from the 2025 inauguration was added to the museum’s collection and displayed in the First Ladies gallery. (Yes, it’s the gown you may be thinking of, particularly if you saw her documentary, Melania: the white one with the black squiggly line.)

Onstage, Trump spoke of the gown and its designer—her longtime stylist, the French American fashion designer Hervé Pierre—and of her commitment to fashion and her passion for it altogether. One of her most enduring signatures as a first lady will, after all, be her meticulously engineered look and her personal fascination with it: towering stilettos, severely cut skirt suits, and a penchant for black, in addition to a love for European fashion houses.

Trump, according to current Smithsonian secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, who spoke prior to her remarks, is the first first lady to be represented in the collection by two inaugural gowns in more than 100 years. “That’s really important to us,” Bunch said.

“Human nature resides in the discipline of detail. Everything is in the detail,” Trump said in her speech. “It’s a testament as to why America’s fashion industry can lead the rest of the world.” Notably, she “championed” the United States’ “fashion leadership,” to borrow wording from the release of remarks, while wearing not one but two European labels, as confirmed by the office of the first lady. It’s a detail that seems worth paying attention to.

It sent a message: that Trump either seemingly didn’t think it relevant that she was wearing a Bottega Veneta coat (Italian, retailing online for $4,300) with Christian Louboutin (French) snakeskin boots while speaking of how the American industry was leading the pack, or that she simply hadn’t thought of it to begin with. Considering how carefully curated her style is, though, we can presume that the first lady always knows exactly what she’s wearing and to where.

It would have been more congruent to see Trump wear an American label for the occasion, signaling her support beyond her words. It is no secret that the American fashion industry, particularly in New York, has not been welcoming of Trump. And so it’s no surprise that Trump didn’t wear an American label this morning, and almost never does—she wore Dolce & Gabbana to the premiere of Melania, and Dior and Alaïa to ring the New York Stock Exchange bell the day prior.

Ralph Lauren dressed the first lady for Donald Trump’s first inauguration back in 2017 (she wore another gown by Pierre for the evening proceedings), but he hasn’t dressed her since. And following her husband’s first election, many designers pledged to not stand behind her: “I have no interest whatsoever in dressing Melania Trump,” Marc Jacobs told WWD in November 2016. “Personally, I’d rather put my energy into helping out those who will be hurt by [Donald] Trump and his supporters.” The exception to the rule would be the New York–based designer Adam Lippes, who outfitted Melania for the second inauguration in 2025 and has continued to dress her since then. Lippes appeared in the documentary working alongside the first lady on several looks.

If she wanted to continue to separate herself from the luxury and designer pocket of the US fashion industry, Melania could have chosen to align herself with American manufacturing—echoing her husband’s promise of an America-first manufacturing boom.

She could have worn a bespoke suit by an unknown tailor, or perhaps a dress and coat made locally in New York’s Garment District by the many immigrant workers who fuel it. The role of first lady is largely symbolic, and seeing Melania wear American designs could have inspired the many women who want to dress and look like her to do the same.

But Melania almost never uses her clothing to make such kinds of statements (aside from the one time she famously told us “I really don’t care” via a Zara jacket she wore in 2018, which she said was a message to the left-wing media). Except that she still did: While speaking of the excellence of her own fashions and of Pierre’s design, she happened to underscore a particular fact: American fashion is a leading industry because it is, in great part, run by immigrants. Not only is the first lady an immigrant herself, but so is Pierre, who was born in France and is now a citizen of the United States. With Melania being known to pay attention to details, this one is difficult to ignore.

Four Decades of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Scandals, Chronicled

Presenting the 10 Hosts Who Are Shattering the Talk-Show Format

Inside Trump’s Wild West Wing Pardon System

The One Question Tyra Banks Refused to Answer in the America’s Next Top Model Documentary

Wuthering Heights’s 7 Biggest Changes From Book to Screen

The Truth Behind George, JFK Jr.’s Failed Magazine

Margaret Qualley on Gossip, Surrender, and Life With Jack Antonoff

Inside JFK Jr. and Daryl Hannah’s Tumultuous Relationship

The New Epstein Files Are Reopening the Pizzagate Box

The 10 Things That Haunt Me From the Latest Batch of Epstein Files

From the Archive: The Unraveling of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedey