Yahoo News Melania Trump Chooses Stylist Herve Pierre to Design Inaugural Gown Again
While many expected First Lady Melania Trump to rely on her stylist Herve Pierre to help select her 2025 Inaugural Night gown, they might be surprised to learn he designed it.
A designer in his own right, Pierre also created the ethereal gown that she wore in 2017, to attend the Inaugural Balls with her husband Donald that marked the start of his first administration. Eight years later, Pierre has surprised fashion followers and foes again with a strapless off-white silk crepe dress with two bands of black silk gazar. As an accent, FLOTUS borrowed a diamond broach that was created by Harry Winston in 1955 and wore it as a choker. Its design is meant to reflect Pierre’s concept for the gown – a ribbon encircling a bouquet of flowers – as indicated in his initial sketch for the dress.
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In a statement released Monday night, Pierre said, “It is a big honor to have collaborated with the First Lady on the design for her inaugural dress. It was clear that Mrs. Trump was gravitating towards a combination of black and white – true to her own style and vision.”
Trump’s choice of a gown designed by the French-born Pierre, who is an American citizen, caps off an all-American designer day for FLOTUS. She tapped two New York-born independent designers for the outfit that she wore to Monday’s swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol’s Rotunda. Adam Lippes created the navy silk wool coat and pencil skirt, and the ivory silk crepe blouse that she wore. And another under-the-radar creative Eric Javits made the coordinating hat that she topped off the ensemble with.
However, Trump sported several European designers too for inaugural-related events, including Dior, Dolce & Gabbana and Saint Laurent. The founder, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessey Louis Vuitton attended Monday’s swearing-in ceremony along with his wife Helene, daughter Delphine (who is Dior’s chairman and CEO) and his son Alexandre.
“So you see we are all Americans,” Pierre said – including the Slovenian-born Trump, who became a U.S. citizen in 2006. To create Trump’s second inaugural gown he turned to a Chinese-American seamstress in a New York City atelier. From his viewpoint, “fashion is for the eye, and it is up to others to come up with their interpretations.”
By designing an inaugural night gown twice for the same first lady, Pierre joins the ranks of a few other designers, who have done the same thing. Jason Wu dressed Michelle Obama in 2011 and 2015, James Galanos designed for Nancy Reagan in 1985 and 1989, and Nettie Rosenstein did the honors for Mamie Eisenhower in 1953 and again in 1957. In keeping with the tradition that designers and First Ladies abide by, Pierre said he did not charge Trump for this year’s inaugural gown.
Addressing how the design is very true to Trump, Pierre said it is advantageous when you know someone so well that you understand their likes and dislikes. Despite dealing with another case of pre-inaugural will-they-like-it nerves, Pierre said, “Afterwards, it doesn’t belong to you, as long as you have been true to yourself.”
Pierre said he was inspired by seeing the level of care that artisans used to restore Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris following a massive fire in 2019. And then he sought out a similarly minded American operation – Harry Winston to draw attention to its domestic heritage and excellence. While craftsmanship is highlighted and appreciated in Europe, that is not the case here, Pierre said. “We need to be promote American craftsmanship at the highest level,” he added.
Regardless of an observer’s fashion knowhow, Pierre expects the strength of the dress that he designed for Trump to be immediately recognizable. “I hope people will like it, but I never know,” he said last week. “But I must say that the first one was a success. I barely heard a negative comment about the first one,” adding that included naysayers. That creation is vanilla silk crepe off-the-shoulder gown with a slit skirt, a ruffled trim from neck to hem, and a claret ribbon around the waist is housed at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
The prized jeweler Harry Winston also has a connection to the Smithsonian, which is where he donated the “Hope Diamond,” a deep-blue diamond 340 baguette diamonds totaling 66 carats, in 1958. That helped the museum to build its National Gem collection. In 1944, Winston became the first jeweler to lend diamonds to an actress for the Academy Awards. When Nancy Reagan traveled to Europe in 1982, she reportedly took with her some pricy jewels from Harry Winston, including ones she’d had for more. The aforementioned press release said, “It is understood that Mr. Winston’s wish was that First Ladies would be able to borrow his pieces for special occasions.”
Much has changed since Pierre’s first go round as Trump’s inaugural night career, not just in the world geopolitically, but also in his career. When Pierre first met Trump through her former advisor Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, he was having trouble finding a job, despite a long tenure at Carolina Herrera, and experience at Oscar de la Renta, Balmain, Lanvin and other European luxury houses. After connecting with Trump about the inauguration prospect, the pair hit it off and he agreed to continue on as her stylist during her first four years in the White House. That collaboration continued afterwards and is still going strong for Pierre, who said last week, “This is purely personal for me.”
Unlike some major designers, whose teams vie for the chance to dress a first lady in order to capitalize on worldwide exposure and potential sales, Pierre said he has no stake in game. Atelier Caito for Hervé Pierre, the Garment District business that he started during the first Trump administration, shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic and his business partner Nicolas Caito later returned to Paris to work for a luxury house. Pierre turned his attention to interior design and lampshade décor for well-heeled private clients, while continuing to consult. He often employs his European sensibilities and appreciation for the arts, when considering what could be suitable for Trump for specific occasions especially international ones.
However, Trump’s and Pierre’s association faced headwinds in 2022. After a report acknowledged that the Donald Trump-supported political action committee Save America had paid Pierre $60,000, Pierre said that was not in relation to fashion or any of the services that he rendered to her, during the first Trump administration. Melania Trump concurred that by issuing a public statement of her own.
Unfazed by the fact that a number of American designers have shown no interest in dressing Trump, including several leading ones that said so publicly eight years ago, Pierre routinely shops at retail. He also noted that some major American designers are lovely to work with.
Having faced criticism for not dressing Trump in more American labels for key photo-ops, Pierre told WWD last week that he was once turned away at the front door of an American designer’s store in New York City by a salesperson. “I understand that you can criticize Mrs. Trump, but to say to someone who is coming to shop — full-price, ‘You are not welcome here.’ That is something that I would have never expected.” Trump’s choice of Pierre might be something that others would never expect. “So, some won’t dress her – ‘alors.’ It’s fine,” he said dryly.
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