Earlier this week, for the first night of the RNC, Melania Trump sported a ready-to-wear dress she purchased herself on Net-a-Porter (by a non-American designer, Roksanda, no less) — rather than a custom piece, as most potential FLOTUS's have worn. Honestly, we didn't think there'd be much more to discuss, fashion-wise. But Ivanka Trump proved us wrong: She wore a $138 sleeveless dress from her self-titled fashion line, Ivanka Trump Collection, to introduce her father, Donald Trump, on stage last night, per WWD.
Forget custom versus off-the-rack: Ivanka, the GOP candidate's eldest daughter and businesswoman, opted for a getup with a very accessible price point. The pale pink sheath dress, sporting a slit, is in the triple-digit range, not a quadruple-digit buy like her stepmother Melania’s frock — though that sold out pretty much immediately. While the exact style Ivanka wore doesn't seem to be available online, this similar style in that same blush shade will also run you $138.
It's not the first time Ivanka has worn her own mass-market designs to the RNC — on Wednesday, she wore another dress from her own collection, as well as Ivanka Trump-label shoes, as WWD pointed out. The dress in question rings up at $158, and the shoes are $135.
While her father is a very controversial (reviled, even) character, Ivanka has kept a pretty low profile during this campaign. And when it comes to her namesake business, it's doing pretty damn well. Her clothing line alone brought in $100 million in revenues in the past fiscal year, with an increase in sales of $29.4 million from 2015 to 2016, per Forbes.
Wearing your own line — with attainable prices and an accessible list of stockists that includes mall staples like Macy’s, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, plus very mass e-comms like Amazon — for such a closely watched event? Talk about a savvy branding move.