Ever since the days of Jackie Kennedy, the First Lady's fashion choices have been seen as a symbol of American culture at large. Regardless of party affiliation, FLOTUS' style has always been closely followed, and nurtured, by the fashion industry, so it's been particularly interesting to profile the outfit choices of Melania Trump, from her Met Gala days to the White House, when most designers have shied away from affiliating themselves with the White House.
Despite all this, her latest outfit, a $2,300 summer dress by Spanish designer Delpozo, has already sold out. And it shows just how much upper-class Republican women still look to the wife of President Donald Trump for style cues. It seems they don't care how much it costs, or where it was produced. This applies to Ivanka Trump, as well, who has seen a surge in sales of her eponymous Made-in-China-clothing line since stepping away from her business to stay out of politics.
We reached out to Delpozo to inquire whether or not Trump purchased the dress herself, or if the designer knew that she'd be sporting the dress for her trip back to D.C.. Like most designers who won't even send a press release in her honor, the company essentially declined to comment. "While the brand is appreciative of Melania Trump’s support in wearing their designs, they do not comment on clients, private or otherwise," they said. The dress appears to be the commercialized edition of a shorter version from the resort 2017 collection, and was most recently on sale at Moda Operandi for $782.
After what might go down as the worst four weeks of his presidency, it's fascinating that the Trump name still holds power for a certain subset of fashion consumers; two J.Crew T-shirts Barron Trump wore this year have also been sell-out hits. Of course, just because a Trump wears something doesn't necessarily render the garment tainted, but it'd just be interesting to know whether the buyers of Trump's latest Delpozo look separated their politics from their fashion, and whether or not the Spanish designer will produce another run of the dresses to capitalize on the moment.