Melania Trump faced a tough time to premiere her self-titled documentary. It was already a tall order, to ask audiences to tune in to a feature film about a subject who seems to have, intentionally, not participated in being a public figure at the level her station would require. Sure, there was a coffee table memoir published in 2024, which became a New York Times bestseller, but ultimately it didn’t reveal much. So why try it again on the big screen?
The official premiere hosted at the “Center formerly known as Kennedy,” as my colleague Aidan McLaughlin put it in his scene report of the would-be shindig, came after a tense, devastating week in the United States. If early reports from ticket sales online showed theaters with an embarrassingly low amount of sales, then why should anyone care now?
That might be why when Trump herself took the red carpet—which was in actuality black—last night, she was not dressed for movie stardom. Instead, she wore a sober black skirt suit of the kinds she wears often in her role of first lady—tailored close to the body and cinched at the waist, this time with a thin belt, and with no ostentatious jewelry. Despite the step and repeat, the message was loud and clear: this is not a Hollywood premiere.
Last night’s ensemble was by Dolce & Gabbana, the Italian label preferred by the first lady. The jacket retails for $2,345 and the skirt for $1,145. She’s also wearing the brand in the poster of the documentary, and donned a $7,300 coat dress by Dior on Wednesday when she rang the New York Stock Exchange bell. In the words of the perennially quotable Ina Garten, “store-bought is fine.”
Trump’s continued choice of black, along with the black and white styling of the film’s marketing, suggests she is continuing to meticulously build the image she’s created as first lady: Of a stoic, glamorous figure with not much to say but a slick, imposing image.
Other than Ralph Lauren and Adam Lippes, who each dressed the first lady for her husband’s inaugurations in 2017 and 2025, respectively, American fashion, and fashion at large, has shied away from dressing the First Lady. The general consensus is that it’s not worth the hastle—though Lippes may disagree, as I’ve been told from multiple sources that his business has flourished since last year’s inaugural ensemble (another skirt suit, this time in navy). It’s why you will often find Melania wearing either a custom gown by her stylist, the designer Hervé Pierre, or in something off-the-rack, usually from European labels despite the president’s ethos of reinforcing the American economy and stateside manufacturing.
Trump reportedly made an effort to be chatty when facing reporters last night, even if she is not one known to be loquacious. Despite initially appearing willing to let his wife take the spotlight, I’m told, the president spent close to half an hour answering reporters’ questions while his wife posed for more photos. A detail you may miss in those about her outfit? “The shoes were Loubs,” my colleague reports—as in the famously red-soled Christian Louboutins.
José Criales-Unzueta
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