First lady Melania Trump is wearing a silk-wool Adam Lippes coat and skirt with an ivory blouse this morning at the 2025 inauguration, where her husband, Donald Trump, will become the 47th president of the United States.
“The tradition of the presidential inauguration embodies the beauty of American democracy, and today we had the honor to dress our first lady, Mrs. Melania Trump,” said Lippes in a statement. “Mrs. Trump’s outfit was created by some of America’s finest craftsmen, and I take great pride in showing such work to the world.”
Melania, who is from Slovenia, is only the second immigrant to serve as first lady in the history of the US. (The London-born Louisa Adams, wife of President John Quincy Adams, was the first.) Though she donned mostly European labels during her husband’s first term—Dolce Gabbana and Alexander McQueen were two of her favorites—and throughout much of his recent campaign, choosing Christian Dior on election night, the choice of Lippes feels particularly pointed. Much of the Trump campaign was focused on reinforcing the American economy. The New York–born and -based designer’s eponymous label is an independent business just over a decade old, a markedly different choice from American fashion behemoth Ralph Lauren, who outfitted the first lady for the 2017 inauguration. Here, Melania seems to be underscoring those efforts as opposed to the mixed messaging sent during her husband’s first term. He would preach in favor of buying American, and her wardrobe would tell a different story.
Melania choosing Lauren eight years ago felt like a call for unity—coincidentally, Hillary Clinton also wore the label to the 2017 inauguration—and a statement that Melania, too, could follow the steps of first ladies past and wear one of the country’s most prolific and recognizable designers: American through and through. Historically, Lauren has been happy to reach across both sides of the aisle. That said, he consistently dressed Dr. Jill Biden during her time as first lady and hosted her at one of his runway shows last year. He also became the first fashion designer to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom under the Biden administration just last month. Both President Biden and Dr. Biden wore Ralph Lauren at the inauguration this morning.
Lippes, however, while not a household name, has been a go-to designer for Melania. She was spotted in a black-and-white–striped shirtdress by Lippes in New York last summer, and, together with Michael Kors, the label was one of a handful American names she wore during her husband’s first term. The choice of Lippes suggests that Melania will continue to engage the fashion community in her own way, particularly as she reaffirms her position’s power to uplift independent and budding American businesses like some of her predecessors. (Consider Dr. Biden in Markarian by Alexandra O’Neill at the 2021 inauguration and Michelle Obama in Isabel Toledo and Jason Wu at the 2009 inaugural events.)
While mostly absent during the campaign, Melania did make press appearances promoting her memoir, Melania, last year, which pointed to possible ambitions of emerging as a personality all her own. An alignment with fashion could help drive those aspirations, should the industry be willing to play ball, though there is a precedent of reticence from the New York fashion establishment to engage with Melania as first lady. Designers have shown themselves dubious to show any alignment with the Trump administration to not muddle their more progressive values and political ideals. Still, it is undeniable that dressing a first lady provides a great deal of attention and becomes a style reference for the more conservative pockets of customers that labels like Lippes (or, say, Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, and others) cater to.
This past weekend, the Oscar de la Renta label shared on social media that it had dressed second lady Usha Vance for the vice president’s dinner, and Ivanka Trump for a separate event. The comment sections of both Instagram posts were flooded by customers and followers sharing their disappointment. This serves as an indication of what other popular labels that align with the Trump administration will face—though it must be said that a social media storm does not necessarily play out on the retail floor. Judging by Lippes’s choice to dress Melania for the occasion, the reward may just outweigh the risk here, but only time will tell.
