When it came to her husband's first inauguration in 2017, former First Lady Melania Trump turned to American designer Ralph Lauren. “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," a spokeswoman for the first lady told WWD at the time.
The former fashion model exuded sophistication—and drew comparisons to another stylish first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis—wearing a powder blue dress and matching bolero jacket to the swearing-in ceremony. Melania completed her daytime look with matching gloves, Manolo Blahnik stilettos and an elegant updo.
Mordechai Alvow, the hairstylist behind the first lady's updo, told WWD, “I wanted to achieve a superchic look to work with the silhouette of the sky blue Ralph Lauren set,” adding, “The outfit had beautiful tailoring, including a superhigh collar that is great for her long neck, and a Fifties feel was modernized with a touch of origami shapes. It was important to make sure her hair not interfere with the clean lines and monochrome color, so we decided to put her hair up, which also allowed her amazing bone structure to take center stage.”
In the evening on Inauguration Day 2017, the first lady stunned at the inaugural balls dressed in a design by Hervé Pierre. Melania collaborated with the designer on the off-the-shoulder number, which featured a thin claret ribbon and slit skirt. WWD reported at the time that the gown reflected the first lady's "vision of fashion and the way she feels in a gown."
The first lady donated her inaugural ball gown to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in the 2017. While presenting her dress at the museum, Melania admitted (via the New York Post), "It can be a daunting task to choose an outfit that will be mesmerized and become part of our nation’s story and forever history."
She also confessed that what she "would wear to the inaugural ball was the last thing" on her mind. "In fact, by the time I got around to thinking about my wardrobe choice poor Hervé was only given two weeks to design and produce this couture piece," the first lady said. "We had never worked together before, but I knew of his stellar reputation and wanted to work with someone who would do more than just design a dress. I wanted someone who would be willing to collaborate with me and Hervé exceeded my expectations."
Ahead of her husband's second inauguration, Melania sat down with Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt. Ainsley revealed that she asked the first lady about her 2025 inauguration looks and Melania told her "you just have to stand by and wait."