First Lady Melania Trump stood in front of reporters, supporters and colleagues at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History on Friday in an ensemble of frosty wealth essentials – a Bottega Veneta peacoat, leather leggings and Christian Louboutin snakeskin heels – and extolled the virtues of a slash of black fabric that zigzagged across the white column gown she wore for her husband’s second inauguration as president, just over a year ago.
This was no mere ruffle or adornment; it was a black silk gazar summation of her biography, as imagined by her longtime stylist, designer Herve Pierre. “The meticulously formed black shape ‘Z’ on the front bodice summons decades of my early memories, life experiences, and influences,” she said. “And all of these stories are tucked deep within its crisp, strong seams — forever.”
Trump was there to celebrate the addition of her gown to the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s First Ladies Collection – a tradition that dates back over 100 years and has resulted in one of the museum’s most popular exhibitions. The museum’s director Anthea Hartig praised the historic nature of the moment, which she said would “help pave a new path as Mrs. Trump becomes the only modern first lady to serve two nonconsecutive terms,” sentiments the museum’s secretary, Dr. Lonnie G. Bunch III, echoed. “This is really a milestone in its own right — the first First Lady to be represented by two inaugural gowns in the more than 100 years of this museum.”