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Inauguration Day 2025 is here, and incoming first lady Melania Trump has already stepped out in style.
Early this morning (January 20), the 54-year-old wife of President-elect Donald Trump arrived outside the White House to meet Joe and Jill Biden ahead of the swearing-in ceremony (scheduled to commence at noon EST) decked out in Adam Lippes.
Melania was spotted in a navy blue silk-and-wool overcoat with large lapels buttoned up to reveal an ivory scarf peeking through. The custom piece was crafted by the 52-year-old designer who rose to fame as the youngest creative director at Oscar de la Renta before launching his eponymous label.
The dark and defining look was paired with a wide-brimmed top hat by Eric Javits shielding the top half of her face.
While Melania has been known to dress in every European fashion house from Yves Saint Laurent to Dolce & Gabbana, the dignitary decided to honor she and her husband’s renewed position in the country by working with the American designer. The entire outfit was picked in collaboration with her stylist of eight years, Hervé Pierre.
In a statement sent directly to Women’s Wear Daily, Lippes said inauguration day “embodies the beauty of American democracy.”
He continued: “Today we had the honor to dress our first lady, Mrs. Melania Trump. Mrs. Trump’s outfit was created by some of America’s finest craftsmen, and I take great pride in showing such work to the world. With deep gratitude to Mrs. Trump for her trust and collaboration.”
As for Melania’s distinctive head accessory, Javits confessed his original hat design was damaged in transit because of a nasty snowstorm, prompting him to rethink the structure and start over.
He told Women’s Wear Daily the design process left him on “a bit of cliff hanger.”
Back in 2017, Melania tapped American designer Ralph Lauren to design her look for Trump’s first-term inauguration.
The baby blue, knee-length dress with a high-neck bolero, matching opera gloves, and Manolo Blahnik pointed-toe pumps seemed to pay homage to former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who’s widely remembered for donning a similar monochrome silhouette.
“With the historic swearing-in of her husband, Donald J. Trump, as the 45th President of the United States, the first lady-elect will become America’s new First Lady wearing an American designer who transformed American fashion, Ralph Lauren,” the fashion house told Women’s Wear Daily at the time.
For the 2017 inaugural ball, Melania dressed in a Hervé Pierre original cream-colored, off-the-shoulder gown adorned with a thin red waist bow that was later inducted into the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
