Melania Trump’s fashion sets the world talking

The US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump touched down in London on September 16th for their UK state visit. While they are supposed to express good bilateral relations, state visits are rarely just about handshakes and speeches.

With more pictures issued than words, the leaders’ clothes speak as loudly as policy. When Melania Trump, 55, stepped off the plane at Stansted Airport, the First Lady’s outfit spoke volumes before she uttered a word. In a classic camel Burberry trench, Trump offered an immediate nod to her hosts.

Dr Naomi Braithwaite, associate professor in fashion and material culture at Nottingham Trent University, told PA Media, “Burberry is the sign of British fashion, and so coming down wearing that is a really positive thing.” The coat — flapping open to reveal the signature check lining, collar dramatically turned up — was both practical and theatrical.

Dr Braithwaite saw not only British heritage but “that wonderful Hollywood glamour (when trenches were worn by) Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart,” who made the trench such an iconic piece — harking back to when US and European style came together.

That tension between tribute and individuality has defined Trump’s wardrobe choices since she arrived. The Burberry trench signalled her awareness of place and history. Yet the rest of the look quietly mixed American and European designers, like Celine and Michael Kors — a visual “union” of influences that echoed the diplomatic purpose of the trip. If the trench was a respectful nod to the past, the Dior two-piece suit and wide-brimmed plum hat she wore to meet the King and Queen and Prince and Princess of Wales was a declaration of fashion’s future.

Carolina Herrera

Dr Braithwaite likens it to the famous 1947 photograph of Dior’s Bar suit on the banks of the Seine: “It was the ‘New Look’ — so Dior, so stylish.” In referencing this 20th century silhouette, Trump evoked a period of post-war elegance and Franco-American fashion exchange, a moment when a new kind of glamour was first exported across the Atlantic. Of course, it was no coincidence Trump opted for Dior, which is not only one of her favourite designers, but it follows the appointment of Irish designer Jonathan Anderson to creative director earlier this year.

Trump’s wide-brimmed plum hat also evoked intrigue. “It really does hide her eyes; she’s almost hiding behind it,” Dr Braithwaite observes. In political fashion, that kind of controlled visibility is rarely accidental. It softens scrutiny while commanding presence, a tool women in public life have long used to draw or deflect the gaze, Dr Braithwaite says. Even her colour choices — a muted suit with a contrasting hat — diverged from the British royal tradition of ‘colour-blocking’. “Colour clashing is quite in fashion,” says Dr Braithwaite, “it probably is quite American.”

By opting for the American trend of clashing hues, she carved out a distinctive space amid a sea of monochrome millinery and coat dresses. At the state banquet, Trump wore a butter yellow off-the-shoulder evening gown with a contrasting pink belt by American designer Carolina Herrera.

The silhouette is rarely seen in royal settings. Dr Braithwaite called it “quite unusual at a royal event (...) but she looked wonderfully stylish.” The dress balanced glamour and discretion: not ostentatious, not overly revealing, but unmistakably elegant. “It’s slightly subverting the expectation in a royal setting — but doing it in a Melania way,” says Dr Braithwaite. But still one to make a statement having to contend with tiaras, Trump opted for dazzling emerald drop earrings. “Perhaps this is her nod to regality,” Dr Braithwaite suggests, “her statement is in the earrings.”