Opinion

On Melania Trump’s style, Chrissy Teigen, in praising former US first lady, spoke for many

Melania always looked on point, even on the rare occasions her fashion choices were tone-deaf, as Chrissy Teigen acknowledged in a backhanded way on Twitter

The former model spoke for many other fashion lovers and commentators whose political leanings meant they shied away from praising the now former first lady

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Melania Trump smiles as she descends from Air Force One in Florida with her husband, outgoing US president Donald Trump, on January 20. Mid-air, she swapped a sober, all-black outfit for a boho-chic Gucci kaftan dress, typical of her preference for high-end European fashion. Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images/AFP

Formerly the fashion editor of the South China Morning Post, Vincenzo La Torre is the chief editor of Style, the South China Morning Post’s luxury monthly publication.

Published: 4:15am, 26 Jan 2021Updated: 4:15am, 26 Jan 2021

On her last day as US first lady, Melania Trump pulled out all the stops to make a fashionable departure as she boarded Marine One to leave Washington for Florida with her husband, Donald Trump.

She was clad in a sombre, all-black outfit that included a Chanel jacket, a Dolce & Gabbana dress and carried an ultra luxurious Hermès Birkin bag in black crocodile leather.

When the US presidential jet landed in Palm Beach, Florida, where she and Donald are now based, she descended to the tarmac wearing a boho-chic kaftan dress in a vibrant pattern from Gucci.

Up until her very last hours at the White House, Melania stayed on message: she chose two quintessentially Italian and two quintessentially French brands, once again going against the tradition of US first ladies wearing American designers in order to show support for the US fashion industry.

Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump step out of Marine One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on their way to Florida on January 20. Melania wore a black Chanel jacket and Dolce & Gabbana dress, which she later changed out of aboard Air Force One. Photo: AFP

Melania had worn those same labels at some key moments during her tenure as first lady: she famously wore a Dolce & Gabbana floral appliqué jacket at the G7 summit in Sicily in 2017; a chinoiserie dress from Gucci to attend a state dinner at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, that same year; and a Chanel haute couture dress for a 2018 state dinner in honour of French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at the White House.