Sizing up Melania Trump, Usha Vance and More

Millions anticipated that Monday’s inauguration of President Donald Trump would offer much to unpack politically. But it also served up a slew of fashion.

Despite staging Monday’s swearing-in ceremony in the U.S. Capitol’s Rotunda for the first time since Ronald Reagan took office in 1985 due to the frigid weather, that restricted crowd setting didn’t decrease the fashion quota.

First Lady Melania Trump took a break from the European luxury labels that she favors to wear a custom navy silk wool coat and pencil skirt with an ivory silk crepe blouse from the New York-born designer Adam Lippes. All three garments were hand-sewn in Manhattan. The former model eased back into the global spotlight by topping off her ensemble with a custom hat from another native New Yorker, Eric Javits. The American-made outfit involved a clandestine operation that was orchestrated by her stylist Herve Pierre.

Lippes was not available for an interview Monday. However, Javits, who never met with Trump during the design process, told WWD last week, “No other hands touched, nor did any other eyes see, the hat, prior to Herve [Pierre] and the first lady receiving it.”

At a time when fashion is often as much about branding, a designer’s personality and social media, Lippes and Javits have been more under-the-radar about honing their crafts. As was the case with Old Guard designers like Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera — as well as their respective current creative director successors — Lippes is bipartisan about dressing political figures, having suited up former First Lady Jill Biden in the past.

The New School’s Hazel Clark noted that while the U.S. president is expected to dress formally and without show, “his wife acts as the visual focus of attention — as the ‘role model’ for the nation. And some have been fashion role models — notably Jacqueline Kennedy and Michelle Obama — in everyday life too. But the inauguration is a ‘Hollywood moment’ for the country that invented Hollywood and that is still very invested in the visuals of television and films. It’s the country’s Oscar moment.”

As a sign of both Melania and Donald Trump’s allegiance to European luxury houses, Bernard Arnault traveled to the Beltway to watch him being sworn in. The founder, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Moët Hennessey Louis Vuitton was front and center Monday along with his wife Helene, daughter Delphine and son Alexandre, who had all traveled to the historic event — just a day before Pharrell Williams’ next Louis Vuitton menswear runway show in Paris. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, X founder Elon Musk and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos also suited up for the U.S. Capitol event.

For Saturday night’s reception and fireworks display at the Trump National Golf Club, FLOTUS wore an oversize charcoal gray Dior coat over her white Dolce & Gabbana pantsuit. She also donned Dior — a black cape-style coat — for Sunday’s wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Those photo ops must have been welcome sights for Delphine Arnault, who is chairman and CEO of Dior.

It’s no secret that Pierre started shopping in designer stores in New York City eight years ago, after several leading designers said they would not dress Melania should they be asked to. Last week Pierre told WWD that luxury houses have been reaching out recently to suit up the first lady, understanding that doing so is free global publicity and could boost sales.

On Sunday evening, she paired a long black sequined Carolina Herrera skirt with a menswear-inspired tuxedo shirt and a floor-length Saint Laurent black jacket.

Sacred Heart University professor David Loranger suggested that Melania’s choices “seem to reflect an aspirational runway model which is manufactured composure that is canned, scripted and purposeful. That is reflective of the dominance of brands and consumerism in our current culture. Contemporary first ladies have stylists crafting their look, as part of the image of the administration. Their outward appearance reflects the ethos of the administration and obviously must be managed as part of the political brand,” he said.

Ivanka Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s wife Usha are said to each be working with a stylist from Town & Country and Tory Burch, respectively. Inquiries to those individuals were not acknowledged.

Ivanka earned high marks for two Oscar de la Renta outfits on Sunday — a dress and coat in camel for the service at the cemetery and an off-the-shoulder glittery fitted evening dress for the candlelight dinner at the National Building Museum that night.

The New York designer house, however, faced criticism on social media for dressing the first daughter, although it has long been known to dress first ladies across the political spectrum, from Nancy Reagan to Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama.

Ivanka, a mother of three, also looked striking at the inauguration on Monday in a dark green suit with a V-neck blazer, and a thin black belt. Seeming to get the hat memo from Melania, Ivanka chose a coordinating beret-type style to complete the look. Her daughter, Arabella Rose, also seemed to be gleaning some style pointers, wearing a cape-style khaki coat and coordinating gloves.

Usha Vance had some scene-stealing moments during the inaugural weekend festivities. Her strapless black velvet de la Renta gown caught a lot of attention at Saturday night’s Trump-Vance fundraiser at the National Gallery of Art. The former corporate lawyer was also unmissable in a dramatic white coat at the Arlington National Ceremony service. Ditto for her inauguration outfit — a pale pink belted coat and scarf from de la Renta.

Even Barron Trump, the New York University freshman, showed off his style strength, having personally worked with a bespoke tailor, as he likes to do, to finesse his custom suits,  dress shirts and cashmere coat.

With Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony over, the next major events on the docket Monday were the inaugural balls, which were likely to deliver more fodder for fashion fans and foes alike.