Melania Trump Wears Carolina Herrera Twice in One Day During India Visit

Rosemary Feitelberg
·3 min read

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TWO FOR THE ROAD: Never one to overplay one particular designer, First Lady Melania Trump put Carolina Herrera in the spotlight twice today during official appearances in India.

For tonight’s state dinner at the presidential palace in New Delhi, she chose a bold pink, flowing gown with long sleeves from Herrera. Earlier in the day she wore a floral shirtdress from the designer label to visit the Delhi Government School, where she sat in on a “happiness class” among other activities. The Herrera doubleheader also resulted in another first for FLOTUS — choosing solely American labels for an overseas state visit. Favoring U.S.-based businesses is a switch for the First Lady, who has often been criticized for sporting European brands for key photo-ops in international circles.

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The choice of such a show-stopping pink may be a wink at something revered former Vogue editor Diana Vreeland once said, “Pink is the navy blue of India.” But FLOTUS has long favored the American brand: Last spring she wore a Herrera dress imprinted with cherry blossoms for a meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Empress Masako. Trump’s style adviser Hervè Pierre certainly knows the company better than most, having worked in its West 37th Street offices for 14 years before venturing out on his own. (He and Nicolas Caito run their Atelier Caito for Hervè Pierre business just down the road.)

Violent protests in Delhi over India’s controversial citizenship laws overshadowed the second day of President Trump’s state visit. As of this morning, seven people were reported dead and more than 90 had been hospitalized with injuries. The clashes follow weeks of protests due to a new law that gives Indian citizenship to asylum seekers from three neighboring countries, but not if they are Muslim. Despite the turmoil in the streets, the President and the First Lady kept to their respective schedules. And intentionally or not, FLOTUS waved the flag for a few American labels — large and small. In addition to today’s Herrera twofer, Trump wore a custom Atelier Caito for Hervè Pierre jumpsuit for Monday’s tour of the Gandhi Ashram and a visit to the Taj Mahal. En route to India, she wore a Rachel Roy ensemble.

Although Trump took an all-American approach to packing for the two-day stay, she polished up tonight’s evening look with glimmer from an Indian resource. Her bold-colored designer gown was accented with gold drop-style earrings from the established Indian jeweler Amrapali, based in Jaipur.

FLOTUS’ footwear for the state palace was considerably more down-to-earth than the Manolo Blahnik stilettos she wore earlier to visit with the schoolchildren. Trump opted for pink flats embroidered with gold thread.

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