The elegance of nothing because no one will remember the style of Melania Trump
The choices of the First Lady were the opposite of those of those who preceded her. If Michelle Obama supported her husband's causes, even with her clothes, she limited herself to aesthetic considerations, following the inspirations of the moment. A detached attitude that has given her three slips
At least in the aesthetic field, the almost ex-American president Donald Trump was consistent: the same red and very long tie, the blue Brioni suit (with the white shirt it represented the colors of the American flag) and the famous very yellow and hyperpacchiana hairstyle. He will be remembered (also) for this.
More difficult, however, to define what will remain of his wife Melania's outfits. A strange couple: as he was showy and never elegant, she was so distinguished but dull she was. Beautiful dresses, of course. Luxurious dresses that, on her body as a former model, fell perfectly. But they stayed there. Taciturn and enigmatic.
How to interpret, this article from the Financial Times asks, the style choices made in four years by the almost ex-First Lady? As usual, there are two fronts. The first is that of Trump supporters and for them Melania plays the role of the ideal wife of the rich and happy family. Soft colors (Dior white) and Louboutin heels. The trophy wife.
Others instead, and they are the anti-Trump ones, over time have seen her as a prisoner princess, who uses the language of clothes (the only one allowed by her role) to support democratic causes. In support of this crazy theory are the small skirmishes (hands not given, eyes raised in the air) that have propped up public outings with her husband and some strange photographs that seemed to contradict Trump's positions. He said "buy American" and she was photographed, in the first portrait as a First Lady, wearing a black Dolce & Gabbana suit. As a contrast, it seems solvable.
The truth is that, despite the ruminations, Melania Trump is very different from Michelle Obama: the latter really used clothes to send political messages (in a broad sense): she mixed luxury and popular, she promoted little-known talents and designers (like Jason Wu and Christian Siriano), tried to support her husband's causes. Her effect was also noticeable in terms of sales.
Melania no. As Isabel Spearman, a former fashion consultant to Samantha Cameron, explains to the FT, "she dresses like you think a First Lady should dress in your opinion." What matters is the appearance and not the substance of a message as subtle as it is impalpable. Some had hoped for it: the fact that her dress for her husband's inauguration day was created by the designer Hervé Pierre, born in France but emigrated to America, had suggested that it could be used as a message of union, a way to talk about the positive impact of immigration (being a foreigner herself) in contrast to Trump's rhetoric. Of course, the issue was not even considered.
But there is one aspect that, perhaps, deserves some further study. Melania doesn't use clothes to counterbalance her husband's messages (and the truth is, she shares them). Rather, she chooses them to quarrel, silently, with him.
It is in this sense that Christian Dior's total white with which she presents herself in public with Trump in January 2018 is interpreted. The revelations of the affair (let's call it that) that the American president had had with the porn actress Stormy had just come out. Daniels. Immediately after her, Melania chooses to wear a color that is the trademark of Hillary Clinton, the symbol of the #MeToo movement, the uniform of the anti-Trump. Coincidences?
And when the infamous audio was released two years earlier, in which Trump told what he did to women (the "pussy-grabbing"), Melania a few days later showed herself in a cyclamen pussy-bow blouse. A case?
There are those who are convinced not. The problem is that in at least three situations Melania has made notable slips. The first is the Manolo Blanik heels worn while she visited the populations hit by Hurricane Harvey: they have never been forgiven. The second is the colonial look, complete with a helmet, worn during a solo trip to Africa. And the third is the $ 39 Zara T-shirt with the words "I Really Don't Care, Do U?" that she put on while she visited a child detention center on the Mexican-US border.
All situations in which the chosen outfit seemed unsuitable (to put it mildly) to the situation. Again: coincidences? The point is that, on an overall assessment, Melania Trump's strategy in terms of clothes boils down to two possibilities: either it is subtle, ambiguous, very studied and enigmatic, full of hidden messages addressed only to those who know, not political but aware , or it is completely random, dictated by aesthetic reasons, momentary and occasional inspirations, completely detached from reality, both that of his personal life and of America. On balance, those who love them lean towards this second one.
