We examine the First Lady’s credentials …
Mel Robbins’ bestselling self-help book, The Let Them Theory is still riding high in Irish booklists. The premise is that when you let your concerns about how others feel about you fall by the wayside, you’ll experience more control and calm in your life. Melania Trump lives this theory, seemingly taking rejection, ridicule and rumours in her stride.
No doubt, she is bracing for further criticism as a new documentary directed by Brett Ratner hits cinemas. While it reportedly cost Amazon MGM Studios $40m to make (with an additional $35m in marketing), it promises an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at Melania’s life; focusing on the first 20 days before the 2025 presidential inauguration through her eyes.
While Melania may be excited about her film debut, many of the production team already requested their names be removed from the credits and viewing numbers across the US have been exceptionally low. Understandable, given the timing as a lavish vanity project doesn’t sit well when viewed against the backdrop of ongoing tensions in the US and globally.
A private screening was held in the White House where guests included Queen Rania of Jordan, Apple CEO Tim Cook and New York Stock Exchange CEO Lynn Martin. Swag at the premiere included popcorn in posh black-and-white boxes, collectible tickets, cookies bearing her name and copies of her memoir.
It’s inevitably a turbulent time for FLOTUS. Unlike previous First Ladies, she was denied a US Vogue cover, normally a rite of passage prior to any inauguration. Designers including Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen publicly refuse to dress her, while her custom is not wanted in some of New York’s Madison Avenue boutiques. Her marriage has been dismissed as little more than a business deal, while her apparent aloofness seen as indifference or intellectual vacuity.
While many women would hide away from such universal criticism, Melania’s first portrait as First Lady saw her staring down the lens of Belgian photographer Regine Mahaux, adopting a power pose in the Yellow Oval Room of the The White House. Mahaux has an established relationship with the Trump family and told The Sunday Times, “Melania is not about flowers and pearls, like a lot of first ladies, so it wasn’t a matter of taking her picture in a rose garden.” Indeed, it was Melania’s idea to take the photo in black and white; she opted for a black Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo and white shirt. The portrait – dismissed by Vogue as “cosplaying The Apprentice” – tells us everything about Melania’s mindset during her second term. She knows the drill.
Sleek silhouettes, impeccable tailoring and statement stilettos are her MO; she relies on longstanding relationships with certain designers including Carolina Herrera, Ralph Lauren and Dolce & Gabbana. Dior has dressed her regularly. And who can fault her choice of Adam Lippes to design her Inauguration outfit? I’d give my eye teeth for something from his previous collections, especially SS19.
Jackie Kennedy famously quipped that it sounded like the name of a famous race horse, yet First Ladies have always been a source of scrutiny and fascination. Fashion is integral to their position. Mrs Eisenhower popularised full-skirted shirtwaist dresses worn with lots of jewellery. Jackie Kennedy made no secret of her love of French couture. Nancy Reagan was synonymous with the colour red, Rosalynn Carter for her astute recycling. Betty Ford, a former fashion buyer and model, mixed fun with femininity. Barbara Bush’s style signifier became her three-strand necklace of faux pearls. When Hillary Clinton unveiled her official portrait in 2004, she was wearing a pantsuit which became her sartorial signature and spawned a hashtag #PantsuitNation when she ran for president in 2016. By her own admission, Laura Bush was a conservative dresser whose only ambition was to be elegant (sometimes she missed the mark!). Michelle Obama was more of a trendsetter with her sleeveless dresses, cropped cardigans and kitten heels. Most recently, Dr Biden juggled the role with a full-time job; her wardrobe reflecting her energy and penchant for colour.
In contrast, Melania’s style is notable for its sombre palette. For the first 20 days, she wore mostly monochromatic outfits chosen or created with the help of her longtime collaborator, French-American couturier Hervé Pierre (Braillard). She also shopped her wardrobe, chosing a demure grey Dior suit to mark her husband’s election night victory. For the Inauguration Ball, her white off-the-shoulder Hervé Pierre gown with zigzagging black ribbon is now at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, where the inaugural gowns of First Ladies have been displayed since 1912. For former president Jimmy Carter’s funeral, she re-wore a Valentinocoat with a dramatic white collar. If Melania looked lost, the poignancy of the occasion – the first anniversary of her mother’s death – perhaps contributed.
During this period, she also wore a succession of high-low outfits for various engagements including skinny Levi jeans, a Rag & Bone puffer jacket, Victoria Beckham aviator sunglasses and even a beanie. All clearly evidence that she has learned from past fashion fails, of which there have been many. Who can forget the Zara “I really don’t care, do U?” jacket when she visited children interned at the US-Mexico border area in Texas and the stilettos she wore touring the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, earning her the nickname Disaster Barbie? Or the frankly hideous yellow gown on her recent state visit to the UK? Not forgetting the odd cream suit, black tie and fedora she wore in Egypt, prompting comparisons to Annie Hall costumes and even Hannibal Lecter’s famous “Florence suit”.
Unlike her predecessors, Melania’s CV is as spartan as her style. She is not a qualified lawyer, noted hostess, librarian, actress, teacher, society swan or Ivy League alumna per previous First Ladies. As one of the most notorious immigrants in the US, Melanija Knavs initially studied interior design before dropping out to focus on her modelling career. She graced the cover of US Vogue in 2005 (and was a guest of the Met Gala in 2006) wearing her duchesse satin Christian Dior wedding dress. Her style has evolved from flamboyant socialite and trophy wife to a power businesswoman – who foresaw her writing a memoir albeit in simplistic prose, or launching NFTs? Melania is nothing if not enigmatic.
Having been in the public eye for 20 years, she’s acquired other life skills such as being seemingly unfazed by paparazzi attention. Her controversial choice of a Eric Javits boater spawned memes of her as Carmen Sandiego, the Hamburglar and Pizza Hut. Yes, the whole ensemble was militaristic and austere (the navy coat reading as black in photos), but so was the mood and the weather. Among other things, she was likened to a #MobWife or a British Airways purser.
As FLOTUS, she has polarised opinion yet somehow manages to navigate the rocky path (in teetering heels) with steely composure. My guess is, following her film’s reception she’ll also need to double down on the Let Them theory …
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