Designer Hervé Pierre collaborated with Melania Trump in designing the vanilla silk crepe dress. It's now on display alongside 26 other inaugural gowns in the National Museum of American History's first ladies collection.
First lady Melania Trump donates her inaugural gown, designed by Hervé Pierre, to the First Ladies’ Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, during a ceremony in Washington, Friday, Oct. 20, 2017.
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
From left: National Museum of American History director John Gray, gown designer Hervé Pierre, first lady Melania Trump and Smithsonian Institution secretary David Skorton pose with the gown at Friday’s ceremony.
(WTOP/Jack Pointer)
WTOP/Jack Pointer
First lady Melania Trump donates her inaugural gown, designed by Hervé Pierre, center, to the First Ladies’ Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, during a ceremony in Washington, Friday, Oct. 20, 2017.
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Melania Trump’s dress is now on display alongside 26 other inaugural gowns in the National Museum of American History’s first ladies collection.
(WTOP/Jack Pointer)
WTOP/Jack Pointer
Trump collaborated with designer Hervé Pierre in creating the vanilla silk crepe dress, which features a slit skirt, ruffled accent trim and a red ribbon around the waist.
(Courtesy Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History)
Courtesy Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History
Designer Hervé Pierre said he likes the gown for its simplicity.
(Courtesy Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History)
Courtesy Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History
“You don’t have a lot of fuss and ruffles and ideas and drapes and print whatever,” designer Hervé Pierre said. “In two lines, you have the essence and you have the spirit of that gown.”
(Courtesy Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History)
Courtesy Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History
President Donald J. Trump yells with the crowd as he waits with first lady Melania Trump before cutting a cake at The Salute To Our Armed Services Inaugural Ball Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington.
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Collaborating with the first lady, Hervé Pierre had only two weeks to design and produce the gown.
(Courtesy Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History)
Courtesy Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History
First lady Melania Trump speaks at The Salute To Our Armed Services Inaugural Ball in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump stopped by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History on Friday to continue a 100-year tradition: presenting the inaugural gown.
Trump collaborated with designer Hervé Pierre in creating the vanilla silk crepe dress, which features a slit skirt, ruffled accent trim and a red ribbon around the waist. It’s now on display alongside 26 other inaugural gowns in the museum’s first ladies collection.
During Friday’s ceremony in the museum’s Flag Hall, Trump said the gown had been the last thing on her mind amid the family’s dizzying transition to presidential life after last year’s election.
” … By the time I got around to thinking about my wardrobe choice, poor [Pierre] was only given two weeks to design and produce this particular piece,” said Trump, a former fashion model.
Trump told Pierre that she wanted a look that was “modern, sleek, light, unique and unexpected.”
“I was so pleased with our end result, and it is now my hope that this piece is one of the many great beginnings to our family’s history here in Washington, D.C.”
After the ceremony, Pierre told WTOP that Trump’s “strong sense of style” and fashion sense helped him meet a tight deadline.
“We didn’t need to turn around different ideas,” Pierre said. “She’s very specific about what she likes.”
The French-American designer likes the piece for its simplicity.
“You don’t have a lot of fuss and ruffles and ideas and drapes and print whatever,” Pierre said. “In two lines, you have the essence and you have the spirit of that gown.”
The first ladies exhibition is one of the most popular at the Smithsonian. Millions tour it each year, said John Gray, the museum’s director.
“They experience not only the importance, grandeur and elegance of the first ladies, but they reflect on how, in our American democracy, transitions of power are celebrated peacefully,” he said.
Pieces such as the inaugural gown help put America’s history into focus and context, said Dr. David Skorton, the Smithsonian’s secretary.
“These gowns certainly speak to us,” Skorton said, “telling us much about the accomplished women who wore them.
“Each first lady left an indelible mark on the White House and on this nation.”
