I have been seeing a Daily Mail story from this weekend quoted everywhere on X. I thought the premise (and promise) was pretty cool and it was touted as an 'exclusive' (!), so I decided to take a look-see. I wanted to know who in the notoriously bitchy fashion industry had experienced this sea change of heart.

She was shunned for Donald Trump's inauguration 2017...but now fashion giants are begging to dress Melania on her husband's big day.

...The Mail on Sunday understands Melania, 54, is being swamped by offers of free designer clothing from nearly every major US fashion house and European couture icons including Versace and Christian Dior in advance of her husband’s inauguration on January 20.

Gosh, that would be different, although she's always worn Dior, so that's not news.

Revisiting the slights and pettiness purposefully shown to Melania Trump put me out of sorts, and then reading about how rudely she was treated overall just pissed me off royally again.

Literally 'shunned' - a first lady of the United States before her husband ever even took office, signed a bill, or sat behind the Resolute Desk.

...‘People spoke out against her and refused to dress her. She was shunned and treated appallingly but acted with nothing but class. It must have been hard for her. Now people are begging to dress her.’

Jeremy Scott, former creative director of fashion house Moschino and a favourite of stars such as Beyonce and Lady Gaga famously said before Mr Trump’s first inauguration that he would ‘never’ design for Melania.

‘Obviously [Melania] looks great, but I can’t divorce it from who she is. I don’t know Melania,’ he said.

She only had her gorgeous blue inauguration outfit because Ralph Lauren was willing to dress her.

How disgusting is that?

Her designer friend finds her 'off the rack' clothes. Granted, it's not you or me at Kohl's, but it's also not these insufferably woke designers flinging couch cover rags begging Jill Biden to wear them or Michelle Obama's 'eclectic' mash-ups with the fashion press swooning.

...While Melania’s final choice of inauguration outfit is still ‘up in the air’, the MoS understands her longtime designer friend Herve Pierre is favouring a US brand.

He recently told American fashion ‘bible’ Woman’s Wear Daily that designers were so reluctant to offer Melania clothing during her husband’s first term he bought clothes ‘off the rack’ for her.

I pretty much think the Daily Mail's story is either wishful thinking or trying to get back in Melania Trump's good graces (she has previously sued them into submission) because nowhere in their 'exclusive' was there another mention of anyone who was chomping at the bit to dress the absolutely stunning incoming First Lady the second time around.

I think that portends the mean girls still want to play. Spiteful cats.

Designer @sophietheallet refuses to dress Melania Trump, and encourages other designers to do the same: https://t.co/qJVgmyZTQO pic.twitter.com/lJyKHota6I

— Hollywood Reporter Style (@thrstyle) November 18, 2016

In fact, the day after the election, Woman's Wear Daily wrote a catty little article about Mr. Pierre tromping the markdown bins looking for fashion for Melania. No one would answer them when they asked designers if they'd be 'willing' to dress the stunning Melania Trump.

*sniff* As IF

Melania Trump Often Gets Snubbed by American Designers but Her Stylist Keeps Shopping

...A former model with a strong fashion sense would seem to be the perfect customer for American talent to chase. However, the ties between New York’s fashion industry and the Slovenian-born Trump have been knotted at times. When Donald Trump was first elected president, several big-name designers publicly declared they would not dress his wife, despite the fact that she had not asked any of them to.

After becoming an official FLOTUS, she routinely wore European designers, and occasionally American ones too such as a pale blue custom Ralph Lauren ensemble for the 2017 inauguration. More often than not though, her stylist Herve Pierre buys designer clothing for her in freestanding stores. More than seven years later that is still the case.  Sixteen designers didn’t race to respond Wednesday to requests from WWD asking about whether they would dress her or her potential impact on fashion.

...Having stayed under the radar for the past four years and away from the glare of a highly public life, Trump will need some wardrobe additions, according to Pierre. Ninety-five percent of what Pierre buys for Trump is purchased via freestanding stores versus through designer showrooms or custom designs, which previous first ladies favored. Working directly with designers or having them submit sketches for potential creation is not Pierre’s thing. “I don’t really do that for the good reason that the fashion industry is not very welcoming [of Trump.] That’s no secret,” he said. “Some are very open-minded and would be able to do something special. But a lot of people are not.”

So much so, that once when Pierre was shopping in a designer’s store on Madison Avenue in New York City, he was told that he “was not welcome here.” Pierre declined to identify the store, “not wanting to give them this free publicity.”

It was almost as if WWD was making sure the rejection pump was reprimed. Melania gets criticized for not wearing American brands when American brands want nothing to do with her.

...Noting how ordering custom clothes costs a lot of money and is time-consuming, Pierre flagged how in-store shopping can be efficient provided there is something suitable to buy. Recalling how his former employers Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta used to be open to working with first ladies — Democrats and Republicans alike — Pierre said that the few times that he asked an American brand to make a dress or skirt for Trump, he was told, “’Unfortunately, we can’t do that.’”  Laughing, he said, “It wasn’t even anything special. Maybe it was in a different color.”

Pierre added, “They say, ‘Oh, she doesn’t dress in American brands.’ But you have to not forget that some American brands are not very welcoming toward her. I respect that. But my job is to dress her so I will go wherever I can, if I find the right look that is appropriate.”

Melania in her New York office in Trump Tower.
“The modeling business prepared me for the life I have today: glamorous, but tough and relentless.”

Melania Trump for Schweizer Illustrierte
Photo by Régine Mahaux, styled by Hervé Pierre, wearing a white floral brocade suit by… pic.twitter.com/07Ymb9fvPq

— FLOTUS Report (@MELANIAJTRUMP) October 31, 2024

Mr. Pierre certainly earns his salary.

The snarky, bitchy little children's chorus starts up in the background, just to remind anyone who might step out of line and complement Melania Trump that 'We don't do that here.'

Prolific fashion designer and former Project Runway All Stars judge Isaac Mizrahi shared a damning verdict on Melania Trump’s fashion sense during a recent appearance on The Daily Beast Podcast. After co-host Joanna Coles—a fellow Project Runway alum—argued that “whatever you say about (Melania), she always looks fabulous,” Mizrahi didn’t hold back: “I don’t think she looks that fabulous,” he replied.

...And when Coles asked Mizrahi how he would dress Melania for her husband Donald Trump’s forthcoming inauguration, he again pulled no punches: “I would tell her to stay home,” he said. “We know she doesn’t like doing this. So it’s so uncomfortable to see her in anything.”

Oh, mee-yow, you pathetic creature who makes sure to gush over Michelle Obama's 'effortless sense of style.'

Dude. We have had eyes this entire time and to each his own - yeah. But honesty goes a long way.

Big.
It’s a big yellow dress.
With iridescent tights. 😬🫣
Not a good outfit choice.
Maybe she had the same fashion designer as Jill.

Melania Trump wore yellow and she looks amazing. pic.twitter.com/2Vahr4P6Pj

— AmericanWoman_USA (@AmericanwomanU1) February 11, 2024

I sure wish our Karen was still with us here at HotAir. She would love Melania's return and, as our resident fashionista, would be eating the meow minxes alive.

Much like the dearth of designers brave enough to put politics aside in 2017...

...New York socialite and philanthropist and Trump family friend Jean Shafiroff, who sits on the Couture Council of The Museum at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, took a poll to determine how interested designers were when asked their thoughts on dressing Mrs. Trump.

Shafiroff told the New York Post that Zac Posen, B. Michael America, Victor de Souza, and Zang Toi are among the designers who say they’d be willing to dress the First Lady to-be.

“Any designer who dresses her will get enormous press,” Shafiroff told the outlet.

The news comes after several world-renowned designers, including Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs, publicly declined to design clothing for Mrs. Trump.

...it will really be intriguing to see who has experienced a bold enough change of heart to dress the most gorgeous First Lady in their lifetimes this time around.

What is your favorite First Lady look?

Despite multiple couture designers refusing to dress Melania Trump after Donald Trump's win in 2016, she remains, in my opinion, the most elegant and well-dressed First Lady. #Melaniatrump

This is one of my favorite looks.

*Wearing a… pic.twitter.com/jFx0p02wPW

— HouseofMelaniaTrump (@HouseofMelania) October 22, 2024

If they don't, it's really neither here nor there, isn't it?

No one will remember who the petty puddy tats were anyway.

I can't wait.

Melania Trump’s 2017 White House
Christmas Decorations 🎄 pic.twitter.com/Eq8ba3ctkT

— Cyndexia America Truther 💯🥂 (@TrutherAmerica) December 22, 2024