This is sort of silly story in the grand scheme of things, especially given the unprecedented nature of Donald Trump’s presidency. But it’s about Melania Trump and fashion, and there always seems to be an interest in those two subjects. During the presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton was almost universally “endorsed” by all of the American fashion designers. Vogue’s Anna Wintour was also a big Clinton supporter, and it just felt like the entire fashion industry had lined up behind a big Clinton win. Now that our First Lady is either going to be Melania Trump or Ivanka Trump (depending on what day of the week it is), will those fashion designers agree to “dress” any Trump woman?
Well, designer Sophie Theallet got the ball rolling last week. She posted an open letter saying that she didn’t care if she was alienating half of her customers, but she would never, ever agree to dress Melania. Theallet basically said her label’s mission statement is to celebrate diversity and “We value our artistic freedom and always humbly seek to contribute to a more humane, conscious and ethical way to create in this world.” And as such, she could not in good conscience dress a Trump woman. After Theallet posted her open letter, People Mag reported this:
And though Theallet may be the first major designer to officially make her political position known, designer sources say she’s not the only industry insider who isn’t willing to help “make America great again” with their fashions. A source tells People, “This has already been going on for months. Designers wouldn’t lend to Melania, Ivanka or Tiffany, so they either bought the items themselves or wore Ivanka’s brand.” (That might explain Ivanka’s frequent brand promotion throughout the campaign, as well as Melania’s wardrobe, which seemed to come straight from the e-commerce pages of Net-a-Porter.) The source added, “There was a lot of shopping their own closets.”
But it seems the Trump family might be able to find a fashion ally or two down the road after all. Though Michael Kors and Tory Burch had no comment on the subject, Carolina Herrera told Business of Fashion, “I think that in two or three months [designers will] reach out, because it’s fashion. You’ll see everyone dressing Melania. She’s representing the United States.”
I think that’s an interesting explanation for why Ivanka wore so many clothes from her own brand – no designer would agree to dress her. That doesn’t explain why she tried to profit from it though. Then, this week, Tommy Hilfiger told WWD that:
“I think Melania is a very beautiful woman and I think any designer should be proud to dress her. Ivanka is equally as beautiful and smart, although she wears her own clothes. I don’t think people should become political about it. Everyone was very happy to dress Michelle [Obama] as well. I think they look great in the clothes. You’re not gonna get much more beautiful than Ivanka or Melania.”
Is there such a thing as normalizing hateful politics through fashion? Some of us aren’t ready to sing kumbaya quite yet, and maybe we never will be ready. I think every designer should make their own choice about whether they want to associate themselves with the Trump family. I expect that some will decide to dress Ivanka and Melania and some won’t. I also suspect that Melania and Ivanka’s clothing choices are probably the least of our worries.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
I never liked Tommy Hilfiger clothes and now I have another reason to ignore them. What a suck-up. Everything is “political” to the Trumps and far-right policies are vicious toward a lot of people working in fashion.
I may be taking his comments the wrong way, but was Hilfiger saying that Michelle Obama is not nearly as beautiful as Ivanka or Melania? Either way, Michelle is more beautiful, classy, sincere and smarter that those two could ever hope to be. And she’s a self-made woman. Tommy Hifiger is an idiot.
I think he’s just being a suck-up.
I think he was just making another one of those clueless “Why should support for Obamas be treated any differently than support for Trumps” false equivalences that have been going around since the elections.
It seems like he ripped off a lot of Ralph Lauren’s “American sportswear” ideas himself, he should be very comfortable with Ivanka’s ethos.
his line always made me think of Garanimals.
Any American designer who is LGBQTI, or a PoC, or Jewish, or a WOMAN, should absolutely refuse to dress Melania and Ivanka. Who wants to be associated with racist, homophobic, misogynistic, & anti-Semitic (self-loathing) trash? European designers should boycott them too – although I’ll bet someone like John Galliano would LOVE to dress Melania (but not filthy Jewish convert Ivanka, and even though Pence would put him through “conversion therapy” in a heartbeat).
Michelle is stunning. The two Drumpfs are 90% plastic Barbie. No contest.
@Maisie – while I agree with your point about designers who belong to the minorities Trump threatens, that crack about Galliano (who is, lest we forget, gay) was unfair and cruel.
He did something awful but he owned up to it. I doubt he’d have actively sought counselling from the rabbi of London’s Central Synagogue if he still held those views (and Rabbi Barry Marcus himself has said Galliano is sincere in his atonement, which is why I believe it – I wouldn’t if it was just Galliano saying he was sorry)
Class and personality aside no Michelle is not physically better looking. Michelle is certainly nice looking and fit and her persona is perfect; but they are very very pretty and slimmer. My opinion.
The Obamas represent class, dignity and diplomacy. The trumps represent lying and manipulation of a vulnerable population. There is no equal treatment- designers have the right to protest an administration that supports gay conversion therapy.
Teacakes, I know very well that Galliano is gay (hence the Pence conversion therapy crack). I’m also glad he’s sought to atone for his drunken outburst, although the cynic in me thinks it might have had more to do with reviving his career than actual atonement. I’m a big believer in people’s lip-service and the old adage “in vino veritas.”
Still, as he belongs to a minority group himself, maybe his sessions with the rabbi truly opened his eyes to the evils of anti-Semitism, and, I hope, other forms of prejudice.
Lol yeah I agree with everyone who’s saying he’s just a suck up.
I’ve never liked HIlfiger either. And this statement “You’re not gonna get much more beautiful than Ivanka or Melania” speaks volumes to me. It suggests that he will dress any woman who fits his beauty ideals………..but what if they weren’t “beautiful”? Would he be bothered with them then? I’m guessing probably not.
Imo, Ivanka and Melanie aren’t even that pretty. They just wear a ton of make-up and look plastic.
Yeah um yeah. I can think of 10 women off the top of my head that are way, way more physically beautiful than Melania and Ivanka.
And then you have their fridgid, decrepit, rotting, black, soulless insides.
I thought we’d ended the era of “conventional” good looks- i.e.- the models of the world. Personally I haven’t purchased a fashion magazine for a decade to protest the anorexia, photo shop and cookie cutter augmentations that hurts ALL women. Sadly the trophy wife and “I want a pony” daughter are setting our culture backwards in terms of ideals, and now it’s back to stepford wife “beautiful”. Michelle Obama was graceful, capable and strong, while the melania is kept, preserved and vapid. Yuck. More waves of post-election bad news- I’m drowning in outrage!
@LoveIsBlynd love all your descriptions, particilarly “kept, preserved and vapid”. So spot on.
@LoveIsBlynd: you have me vote! 😉
So now these two epitomize beauty? I see more beautiful women at the grocery store, at work, pretty much everywhere. I guess money buys lip service.
Hilfiger is an opportunist.
And a white- idealist KISS ASS. And I know he will get backlash with the people of color.
Isn’t he the one that made the racist comments along the lines of not liking/expecting black people or poor people who can’t afford tommy at full price wearing his clothes?This happened inthe y2k years and everyone was all …. well your clothes are so crappy they always have them at Ross for cheap so FU Tommy!
So ya not a shocker that dude likes trump.
He literally hasn’t been relevant for over a decade. He should find a beach somewhere and relax.
What I’m most interested in is who is going to refuse to attend/perform at the inauguration. It may turn out to be a Z list extravaganza!
I hope the headliner is Scott Baio!!
Ha! That would be hilarious!
ok. some good news.
And Ted Nugent!!
Thinking about the Presidential Medals of Frredom recently bestowed by President Obama, who would deign to show up to have trump hang one around their neck? I imagine a lot of “Sorry, got other commitments” that day.
I would guess that Antonio Jr. and Chachi will be first in line, along with any d-listed from his reality show who supported him (or at least stayed quiet).
Huge list. Many, many tremendous people will be considered.
Chachi, Ted Nugent, Kid Rock, and Curt Schilling sounds like a “freedom” list only Trump could put together. Seriously, though, I fully expect one or all of them to get that medal in the next four years making the award virtually meaningless.
I bet a lot of country music artists be be at the inauguration.
Except a lot of them actually lean left.
Dolly Parton just suggested on some tv show that everyone should now get on the Trump train. Disappointed in her!! But wonder if she wants a spot during the inauguration that I am still hoping doesn’t happen because Trump is arrested for fraud.
Drumpfs team put it out that Elton would do it and I honestly believed it because Eltons all about the $$ these days but even Elton refuted it immediately.
I do think the older rockers would do it. I can see Eric Clapton (look up his racist self) doing it. I can see the Country mysic set doing it. I can even see Gwen Stefani doing it. I can see Bieber doing it because firstly he was pro Trump before Scooter talked him off the ledge and secondly, as a childish act of rebellion against Scooter. I can see a pre-medicated Kanye doing it. And you just know T Swift would see it as a one up against Katy Perry who went hard for Hillary.
Eric Clapton would never participate in this.
I highly doubt Taylor would do it, she’s too aware of the kind of publicity she’d get if she did that.
@Gwen. Every time I post links here my post gets taken down so I’ll leave it to you to research Eric Clapton. Of all the people on that list he is the most overtly hateful. Case in point his rant in a concert which I cant even copy paste here because it is peppered with the racial slurs that begin with “w” and “c”. It ends with the words “keep Britain white. He supported Enoch Powell and defended that position as recently as 2007. When challenged on an interview you can find on youtube he says that he is concerned that the “arabs are buying up everything in England”. Then he says, its too late to save London because it no longer looks like it used to. I could go on. Eric Clapton is a verifiable racist pos who stole his guitar sound from African American Blues and made a killing off it but still thinks himself racially superior to. He would totally show up for Trump. And Trumps audience would love it because he would be flanked by his black backup singers and the audience could pretend that this means he isnt a racist ahole.
Gwen Stefani is a possibility- I don’t know her political beliefs, but we all know Blake Shelton’s and since he’s been exposed as a bigot AND has defended Donald Trump, I could definitely see him agreeing to it.
I’m a little surprised about Bieber’s public Trump support. Not because I thought better of him, or didn’t know about that racist video from when he was 15, but because I thought he’d be too into his own little bubble to bother supporting anyone politically and that if he did endorse anyone, he’d be calculating enough to make sure it wasn’t the one choice that would really make his lack of empathy for others so clear and possibly alienate other people in the music industry, because he’s all about rehabbing his image to save his career and make people like him.
Umm, He’s got Kanye West.
You are absolutely spot on about Clapton, Kreme. I’ve disliked him itesely for many years because of his covert views on humans who don’t look or think like him. He also made vile remarks about the “WWII years” regarding the holocaust. He’s disgusting.
Elton John played Rush Limbaugh’s last wedding (his fourth) but Trump is even too far for him. Elton came out and denied this one right away.
how does Vince Neil sound?
Like an appetite suppressant.
Lady D, you are a treasure! Loved that comment.
Me too! It’s going to be awful.
Elton John flat-out refused. The Stones said hell to the no. This is going to be a motley collection of D -listers at the crappiest inaugural ever. I can’t begin to imagine what a cheap, banal sight the ball will be, gilt splashed over every surface, king Kumquat blustering in imperial robes, poor Moronia wearing something cut down to there. If the party is dull she might be called upon to strip and do a simple pole dance or two. I anticipate the affair will be an abject failure from which it will take everyone involved months to recover and much of TNT blame will be assigned to Moronia. Somebody will have to take the blame for the failure and it might as well be her. Several people will drink too much and it will be loud, mean, and nasty. The ball will end up breaking up early and nobody will have had any real fun. This should give us some idea of the tenor of the next four years of the Mango Mussolini’s presidency.
I hope so
Well their loss. Whatever they wear will sell out. Ivanka wears her stuff to promote her line.
For some people, their ethics matter more than making money.
If only that was true of everyone, then we just might have a very different president-elect right now.
Your statement is too good to be true. I don’t believe that any designer will say no to money and the added prestige of dressing the first lady and first daughter.
Time will tell.
Otaku Fairy – people’s ethics may differ from yours, but it doesn’t make them any less valid.
Crumpet, if ethically you claim to be against racism, homophobia, misogyny, and rape but are willing to be complicit in those things by knowingly voting people who promote those things into political power in the hopes of paying lower taxes, that does make a person’s ethical stances less valid. At best, it means you’re willing to sell out the rights and safety of other human beings for money (an especially gross move on the part of all the rich or borderline rich people who voted for him). At worst, it means you see nothing ethically wrong about racism, homophobia, misogyny, or sex offenders being normalized in society, likely because deep down you have some beliefs that are in line with their actions and stances (making anything that person has to say about ethics even less valid.) Political choices and actions effect other people. Anyone who’s old enough to actually go out and vote for Donald Trump or any other candidate should also be old enough that they understand that basic fact by now.
Do you see her entire nipple and areola outline on that last picture? Holy goodness gracious! I hope it’s been photoshopped or something. These people have enough money to buy and wear whatever they please; they don’t need anyone to “dress” them.
If it’s not photo shopped, way to keep it classy. Everyone wanted to crucify Michelle for daring to show her upper arms tastefully.. yet not a word when it came to Melania”s see thru blouses? I know some people/cultures/generations do not see the braless thing as a big deal. But as First Lady wanna be (in that photo), there is such a thing as keeping it classy, especially as the Trumps seem to try to pin her as the etc. Jackie O if not better.. (insert major eye roll).
I don’t know that designers need to publicly announce their intentions; it’d be fine by me if they simply, quietly declined any requests to dress the Trumps, and left them scrambling to find a dress of Ivanka’s that nobody’s worn yet. That said, I’m sure most designers will, sooner than later, put their bottom line first and jump at any opportunity to dress this hideous family.
If you’re declining to support the Trumps, I think it’s good to publicly announce your intentions. We have to speak up against them as much as we can and in as many ways as we can.
I agree Alix.
Stupid call for a stupid boycott that won’t gather any real steam. This was several days ago and no one else seems to want to jump on board. They are both beautiful women and will have no shortage of designer options.
Will designers want to be the Hugo Boss of the Trump administration?
Oh boy. The Kushners (Ivanka’s husband and in-laws) are very active, popular, and well liked in the Jewish community AND in the textile and designing (mostly Jewish also) communities in NYC. Ivanka converted to Judaism. So all of these misguided attempts to compare Trump to Hitler and paint him as an anti-semite are untrue and absurd.
Good history callback.
@valkenburg- An authoritarian nationalistic figure who blames the problems of a nation on a minority population? Sounds similar to me.
@valkenburg – Trump may or may not be anti-Semitic. (I suspect he personally isn’t, both because of his closeness to Jared and the fact that he has worked his entire life in the New York real estate world).
But appointing Steve Bannon as a close advisor means that he is, at the very least, indifferent to anti-Semitism. And in any event, the comparisons to Hitler generally refer to his remarks about Muslims and Mexicans, not Jewish people.
@Tina
a former Jewish friend (as in “former friend”, not “former Jewish) recently told me that she couldn’t care less. She is confident Trump won’t come after the Jews, and she’s quite glad he’s coming after the Muslims.
Thankfully, I have lots of Jewish friends, most of who are very anti-Trump, because if I didn’t, I’d be pretty horrified by the attitude of the Jewish community (she had a lot of her other Jewish friends gang up on me, supporting her position).
@Timbuktu, that is horrid. I suspect that rationale also applies to a lot of the women who voted for Trump more generally – that they didn’t think he would come after them specifically and cared about sticking it to another group more (or they actually believed he would MAGA, which is just straight-up delusional).
valkenburg, whether he is or is not the New Hitler, many of his followers seem to see him that way or why would they be painting swastikas all over the country, especially on Jewish homes and organizations.
Historians say that it is pretty certain Hitler had some Jew in him. It’s like closet gay people in denial being the biggest promoters of antigay legislation.
@valkenberg,
Hmm, seems to be snowing in here. And you know this about the Kushners how? With all their shady dealings, and dad being a convicted felon, I doubt all is hunky dory. Not only that, their spiteful personalities (both dad and son) leave something to be desired.
Not likeable. Not popular. Just plain evil. I imagine they are tolerated at best by many, and indulged by others. Aligning himself with a raging anti-Semite like Bannon is not a recipe for communal love. Jeez, what a snow job. Drumpf puppets are Nazi sympathisers who love to joyfully and spitefully spread lies to normalise the indefensible.
People still wear Hugo Boss and Chanel regardless of their parts in the Holocaust, so if you’re going to boycott one psycho you should boycott them all. You cant pick and choose.
Melania and Ivanka can wear practically anything and look like a million bucks. They are beautiful women. Designers, it’s your loss!
Ivanka chose to wear her clothes for marketing reasons. She could afford to purchase clothes in that price range easily. She was schilling her brand.
Hopefully yes.
I wouldn’t expect any better from Tommy ‘my clothes are not for black people’ Hilfiger.
Anna Wintour, though? I’m going to give some severe side-eye if she ever puts a Trump woman on the cover, she’s media and we do not need more of those rolling over for Trumpelthinskin and his spawn/wives.
Wintour has ALREADY put Trump women on the cover – Melania wore her wedding dress on the cover of Vogue over a decade ago. A wedding which the Clintons were guests at! These people are all in the same NYC circles – c’mon..
http://jezebel.com/vogue-wont-deny-melania-trump-her-first-lady-cover-but-1789142621
the creature she married wasn’t out there spouting hatred against minorities and immigrants in 2004.
If Anna, after seeing what has gone down in 2016 and being a Hillary supporter, chooses to put a nice face on the Trump establishment by handing them the endorsement of a Vogue cover, I will actually be disgusted and disappointed.
Melania’s OTP wedding gown was on the cover. Wintour is a business woman with obligations to Conde Nast. If it moves magazines, the Trump women will be on the cover.
I remember when that started. That was a FALSE rumor! http://www.snopes.com/racial/business/hilfiger.asp
He even went on Oprah about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgnEOmrntYs
While I can’t stand Drumpf and all he stands for, let’s not start ganging up and starting our own “hate train”. It’s just as destructive.
And remember… GOOGLE IS YOUR FRIEND!
I think she’ll be under pressure to give her at least one cover. I think every First Lady has been on the cover or has done a photo shoot/interview with Vogue since the Hoover administration. I think the only First Lady who didn’t do one was Bess Truman.
WIntour won’t be happy about it but she’ll probably do it because Conde Nast will make her do it.
Eh, I’m sure Melania&Co. will be fine.
“You’re not gonna get much more beautiful than Ivanka or Melania.” Sorry, Tommy, LMAO. Plastic is not beautiful.
First of all, I do respect your opinion.
I have seen before and after pictures of Ivanka, the difference is astounding. Whatever she removed and added to her face, she looks natural and beautiful- at least to me. I could not have said she had any interventions had I not seen the befores and afters. Don’t judge me please. I saw Melania the first time on Oprah (maybe in 2010) and I thought she was beautiful (I am sure she’s had something done to her face though), but the second time I almost did not recognize her and wondered what the heck did she do to herself – she had the catwoman face, this was a first to me so I was pretty ‘shocked’. Now she looks beautiful – again, imo, and please don’t judge me. If they – and other women don’t have the confidence to live with what they consider flaws and choose to alter themselves it’s their decision. My only worry would be negative surgery complications.
Hilfinger should really get out of his usual environment/bubble and meet beautiful women who haven’t had plastic surgeries. If Ivanka and Melania are his example of beautiful women, that says more about him, than about them. Come on Tommy, you will be beautifully surprised.
Wdw. My nine year old wk sweet what was wrong with her face. She looks like a cat!
Melania looks like a lizard to me, and somewhere else here on CB someone aptly described Ivanka as looking like a cross between ET and a turtle, and now that’s all I see. She has done a metric shit-tonne to her face to get it where it is now. I remember seeing her as a guest judge on Project Runway years ago and feeling sorry for her because she was so unfortunate looking. Beautiful? No… not inside or out.
It’s a huge platform to dress the First Lady. I imagine a lot of them will overlook the politics in the end.
Sadly, I agree. For some designers, the potential of promoting their brand and gaining influence will outweigh any criticism.
I wonder if Tommy H. said that to counteract the backlash that Gigi got for impersonating Melania as she’s the main face of his brand. Trump supporters were asking to boycott her.
Nah, think designers will still send her stuff.
But most likely she will wear Ivanka’s line to get them in the spotlight.
Designers might be saying this just now but once the lure of publicity beckons I’m sure they will overcome their principles. Melania and Ivanka are both attractive women who would carry designer clothes well. Also, there are lots of up and coming designers looking to make a name for themselves who could step in if the more established ones don’t want to dress them.
If you dress them, you won’t be dressing me.
+1
+2
@lightpurple, thank you I totally concur with you on this.
No snark, but I can’t even afford half of the designers who dressed Michelle Obama. I don’t think us average folk are their demographic. Gucci and Prada and especially D&G don’t care for ‘us’ and for politics. D&G even said themselves gay people (which they are) shouldn’t be allowed to adopt. There aren’t that many stellar people in the fashion world.
Yeah, because fashion designers are kniwn for their principles. Please. Of course they will dress them.
If the money is right they’ll dress them.
+10000000000000
If this election has revealed anything, it is that for all the talk of making the world a better place, the desire for money (better life, stable income, providing for family, etc) will always trump everything else. And while that may be a bitter pill to swallow, it is an undeniable fact. So we should all just get used to this understanding and get our own money somehow, someway. We should brace ourselves for the increase of inequality. I am going back into the private sector as I build out my start-up. #Moneytalks
Yes, let’s normalise greed (greed is good), lack of ethics, and corruption. Let’s look out for #1. Such Trumpist ideals- Drumpf would be proud.
I’m surprised the cheeto-in-chief hasn’t rage tweeted something stupid about this.
Oh wait, it’s coming.
He is too busy whining on Twitter that he had to work on Thanksgiving. An insult to every firefighter, police officer, military person, hospital worker, ambulance driver, nursing home worker, hotel staffer, bus driver everywhere.
Oh that pissed me off.
One, for the enduring reason that he still doesn’t realize that he’s a PUBLIC SERVANT.
Two, because I worked on Thanksgiving for 3 years in retail, not from a gold-plated apartment, and I think I have mild PTSD from the horrors of Black Friday shoppers. F*ck him.
His ego knows no bounds!!!! What an absolute jerk!!!!!!!!
My father was a firefighter. Many holidays, he wasn’t home for most of the day or we did things at really odd times – like open Christmas presents at 6 PM at night and if there was a fire, he wasn’t coming home when the shift ended. One of my uncles was a Marine and would often be away from his family for a whole year at a time. They miss out on so much. Yet there that buffoon was yesterday, with his family in a mansion having a lovely dinner, no doubt, and whining on twitter that he actually did some work and expecting to be applauded for it. And the Trumpets did applaud him for it; the same ones no doubt who whine about their tax dollars paying for pay raises for cops and firefighters. Pretty sure Obama probably did some work yesterday too but he didn’t go on twitter to whine about it
I think Sophie Theallet wasn’t big enough to register, you know?
True, although I thought Michelle looked fabulous in her designs. I think more will follow and some will not. As a consumer I don’t need to support anyone who dresses them. I think Melania looks hard as nails.
If one extends this to designers’ off the rack’ clothes, are they going to refuse to sell to anyone who voted for a candidate not to their liking?
And, if a designer refuses to dress a person based on who they are married to what does that say about them and diversity/ tolerance? Are these designers OK with restaurateurs not serving folks whom they ‘don’t like’? Or perhaps, not providing services for the weddings of those whose lifestyle they don’t agree with?
Yes, the story is silly. but shows the double standard that exists.
THIS exactly!!
I don’t really think not wanting your brand to be associated with racism, misogyny and various other forms of bigotry isn’t the same thing as actually being a bigot. Especially if the designer is in the group of people the Trumps hate, like blacks or Mexicans or Muslims. Why should a Muslim designer feel obligated to dress a family that wants them all deported? Or a Mexican designer send a dress to a woman who thinks they are a rapist?
Maybe I misunderstood, but don’t they mean “make custom dresses for free” when they say they won’t dress her? I’m sure they won’t (nor can’t) prevent her from going to a store and buying and wearing whatever brand she likes. So, not the same at all as refusing to marry or serve a gay person, like you are suggesting, Amelie.
Alexander McQueen put his money where his mouth was. He asked his stores NOT to sell to anybody he didn’t want appearing in his clothing.
Mind you, if they sent their assistants to buy the clothes, nought he could have done about it, but he was very publicly, unapologetically rude about those he didn’t want in his clothes that they would have looked pathetic wearing them after his rude comments.
McQueen -who passed away in 2010-sounds as if he was a troubled soul. From the Daily Mail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2706960/Scorn-stitch-bitch-Alexander-McQueen-designer-dressed-dissed-A-list-Banning-Posh-free-frocks-Assaulting-Madonna-spud-What-couture-s-bad-boy-REALLY-thought-clients-revealed-live-lover.html
@Amelie, McQueen WAS a troubled soul; he committed suicide. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t right about some things.
@LAK – I miss McQueen, I wonder what he would say about KatieBot wearing and altering his creations, he’d spit sharp nails at her and not care who she was. Didn’t he famously ban Victoria Beckham from every store and made it know that she (or her assistants) were to be sold nothing.
Tom Ford is also particular about which celebs wear his clothes.
It wasn’t a secret that McQueen was a troubled soul, but he was someone who had very strong, very definite opinions about his work and how it should appear and on whom.
It helps to know that his sister was physically abused by her first husband who was also sexually abusing Alexander which defined his idea about the type of woman he wanted to dress.
He once gave an interview to the times where he said he hated the idea of fragile, naive women and wanted people to be afraid of the women who wore his clothing because they were both an armour and a projection of intent.
He would have been *mortified that Kate blandness/ surrendered wife personified wears clothing with his name on it.
* not mortified, but angry and vocal about it.
I miss him too.
LAK, it mortifies me to see The Hunchback of Cambridge wearing the McQueen label, too. But Sarah Burton has dumbed it down for Kate, so there is that. Still, though………it’s appalling.
Tris:
Here is the definition of “dress” from the Oxford English Dictionary:
“Design or supply clothes for (a celebrity):
‘for over four decades he dressed the royal family’”
When Ivanka/Melania start wearing non American designers to important events, these very same designers will whine about not being supported by the first ladies.
Some of these American designers are POC and/or part of the LGBT community. I don’t think they’ll feel bad or whine if the Trumps don’t wear their clothes.
The first family wearing American designers elevates entire industry, not just the few chosen.
If these ladies choose Europe ( as an example) to dress them, it elevates European fashion because the focus shifts away from the American industry.
Well, The Donald has been wearing Italian suits since whenever, so I won’t be surprised to see Melania in non-American designs………..if she actually does partake in First Lady appearances.
@LAK
“The first family wearing American designers elevates entire industry, not just the few chosen.”
True, except in this abnormal case. Unless you wanted to be associated with the vulgar, crass and evil.
It’s not about a candidate of your liking or political “teams” it’s about a candidate who encourages anti-semitism, racism, religious intolerance, gay/transgender intolerance or and brands about sexually assaulting women.
And let’s not forget this women was once an “illegal immigrant” but shamelessness tells others she “did it the right way”. I will never forget.
Oops, double post
It’s not a double standard. There’s a difference between discrimination and refusing to serve a rude or belligerent customer.
It’s unfortunate that the average Trump supporter (and apologist) isn’t even logical enough to realize that tolerance and diversity doesn’t mean a person or a business is obligated to also be ‘tolerant’ of people, movements, or administrations that choose to actively be a threat to the rights, safety, and little bit of equality that people who aren’t of the same race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or ethnicity as Mike Pence and Steve Bannon have had to work for (and keep having to work for) in this country. The fact that some can even equate someone’s not wanting to show support for or have their brand represented by that with homophobia or racism shows how privileged or out of touch with reality the average Trump supporter is. To the pathetic, delusional Trump-supporting woman or man, the Neo-Nazi (or “Alt-Right” as some of them call themselves) agenda and a president who promotes sexual assault= “just a difference of opinion” or harmless “people you don’t like.” I think Michael Shannon was pretty accurate in his assessment of that demographic.
Exactly, Otaku Fairy and Original TC. The “You’re intolerant for not tolerating my intolerance” bull gets on my last nerve.
If you think not wanting to be associated with a bigot is the same as being a racist and a homophobe you need to reevaluate your f*cked up morals.
I’ve been saying this all the time since the election, how hateful and completely irrational speech has been normalized. “Deport everyone and build a wall around Mexico” is now a respectable solution for the problem of immigration. I wonder how these people would react if I told them my solution for healthcare is just killing all the terminally ill and elderly people before they suck up the resources.
I was having this exact same talk the other day. A girl posted something on facebook about how intolerant leftists are. How everyone makes a mess when a gay person is fired because of their sexuality, while shunning and firing someone for being a homophobe is seen as the right thing. I explained to her the very crucial and obvious difference between homosexuality and homophobia, and she literally replied saying “I have nothing against gay people, but you can’t force me to like them”. I stopped bothering with her at that point, but it did piss me off to think we’re having elections next year and that there’s that kind of people around, voting.
Being gay is not a lifestyle, Amelie. Seriously, why do people like you think sexuality is a choice? I don’t think I’ve ever got around to learning that, fallacious as it is.
Reductio ad absurdum at its best, if you ask me. And a sly way of guilting people into giving Drumpf and those complicit in this abomination “a chance”. Evil is evil. You fight it, repudiate it. You don’t play nice with it. Period.
Nope, false equivalency. It is interesing the mental gymnastics Trump supporters go for trying to normalize his hate speech and the actions he has brought on himself for being a racist misogynist bigot.
Intolerance of intolerance isn’t intolerance.
If Melanie doesn’t end up living in the Whitehouse and taking the full time role as First Lady, there really won’t be a need to constantly have the extensive wardrobe from American designers. If American Designers won’t provide for her, I am sure there are many European Designers that will design a clothes for her. By the way, I was in Macy’s near my house and Ivankas clothing line was on clearance, like 50% to 75% off.
I am sure there are women who wouldn’t wear anything from her line even if they were offered the clothes for free.
Yep, pumpkin pie, I’m one of them.
I physically walked away when I see her label. I will never buy anything from her.
I 100% believe that they at least have allies in Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren. Both designers have a history of supporting republicans. Also dolce and gabbana will be totally up for it but they’re not American anyway
Probably some ugly Versace clothes.
Hugo Boss provided the uniforms of the Nazis and continues to thrive today.
The public is fickle and designers always buckle to the pressure of their bottom line.
It took Hugo Boss’ label decades after his death in 1948 to recover. They paid over $1 million in reparations for using slave labor during WWII and have tried to make amends. Yet I think most people still think of them as the company that designed the Nazi uniforms.
I think Boss’ death so soon after the war helped his company rebound. Had he lived I wonder if that would have been possible.
The point remains that people know they worked with the Nazis and still shop there.
These designers saying they will boycott the Trumps under estimate how fickle the public is.
I did not know that. Makes me look at that label twice now.
I did not know that either!
And Coco Chanel was at best a Nazi collaborator (many say a spy) who hated Jewish people. People have short memories.
Yep.
I don’t think fashion should be political.
Fashion speaks worldwide. I can actually see it becoming political, now that you mention it.
I agree that fashion should not be political. Fashion is about color, line, silhouette, fabric, etc. The designer pieces in particular are about art and fantasy.
Sounds like it has no humans attached. Now that’s really pure.
It’s your right to think that and their right to think otherwise.
I don’t think they’re obligated to be political, but these designers definitely have the right to make a statement with their businesses about what they don’t support.
There’s not a thing in this world that is not political.
Yup
I don’t think this is about fashion as much as it is about a certain woman not wanting to lend her services to a bigot. I don’t think food should be political, for example, but I’d understand if a chef didn’t want to cook for Trump.
Shunning should become a thing again.
Melania’s face scares me. It’s like a mask with angry eyes glaring out from behind it.
Too much plastic surgery to produce those fake cat eyes. Wow … this is what a designer thinks is beautiful????? Welcome to Donald world.
@robyn Melania makes me really sad. She drives home the (wretched, outdated, seemingly global) concept that women should be valued only for their physical attributes. Her husband seems just fine with that concept. That he won the election over a woman who was known for her intelligence makes me think the country has co-signed. I KNOW I have taken the election results far too personally, but I feel like the U.S. just told all us uppity smart women (of all colors, shapes and sizes) that we better get in line and pretty up because we’ll never be successful otherwise.
She is definitely not aging well.
I know. She exudes no warmth.
@Esmom And she doesn’t seem to try to. She seems very “I got mine, you get yours.” These are not good people.
Angry and almost crazy is what I get when I look at her.
If this election has revealed anything, it is that for all the talk of making the world a better place, the desire for money (better life, stable income, providing for family, etc) will always trump everything else. And while that may be a bitter pill to swallow, it is an undeniable fact. So we should all just get used to this understanding and get our own money somehow, someway. We should brace ourselves for the increase of inequality. I am going back into the private sector as I build out my start-up. #Moneytalks
I think that’s a very sad attitude to have. So there’s no use trying to make the world a better place? Just make sure you look out for number one? That makes me really sad.
I don’t think this is a silly topic at all because it is all about normalizing and approving of all the nasty things Trump has said and done. There has to be a time in life when principles override the drive for money and fame. And that “pussy bow” blouse Melania wore to stick it in your eye says she agrees with Donald one hundred percent.
Be wary folks, I believe he is quite capable of soothing some feelings to quell a Democratic senate in two years. Don’t believe a conciliatory word he says.
I COMPLETELY agree – the first images of Melania after the election were of her with her son, having lunch. She was dressed as a rich lady who lunches and her son was wearing red New Balance sneakers. The same sneaker brand that was being burned left and right on social media for supporting Trump. This lady is NOT a fool – she will use fashion to send messages as any woman in a position of elevated attention tends to do. And she will never be caught wearing Ivanka’s cheaply made garments – it will be Italian and European brands with a few American brands who already run in her close-knit social circles.
Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted a Democratic majority in 2018. It’s all about his cult of personality, not about actually doing anything for the country. With Republican President, House and Senate majority, AND a Supreme Court pick or 3, there’s absolutely zero excuse to not follow through on all his crazy ideas and nobody to blame when everything goes down the toilet. If Dems pick up a House majority in 2018, he gets to make the same type of “the system is rigged” excuses and not take responsibility for not following through on his plans/promises.
The fact that so little progress was made in choosing his cabinet and that he decides against security briefings makes me think that he didn’t plan to win, but hoped to continue to be a Twitter star and just go around having rallies and selling hats and bemoaning the rigged election and how he should have won.
His facial expressions when having to do any actual work, when he met with Obama and later his meeting with Paul Ryan, are those of panic and being utterly overwhelmed.
I’ll respect any designer that refuses to dress them. Sometimes taking a stand via your business should mean more than $$.
Yes.
If I were rich I would buy only from the designers that REFUSED to dress them. I would be so proud of them for standing up for what’s right above fame and fortune.
Ditto. Cosign. Plus, dressing any Trump seems to have all the glory of dressing a Real Housewife.
The clothing companies that boycott Trump will get more publicity anyways !
Same. I’m not going to get annoyed with designers who do dress the Trump women, but I respect the fact that some are deciding to do this.
Do you respect the Christian bakery that refused to bake a cake?
I respect the Christian bakery that refuses to bake a cake for free.
Brava to Sophie Theallet for nailing her colours to the mast.
Ivanka can dress them both with clothes other people have designed and she has plastered her name on.
I think NO designer should agree to dress her until she’s actually living in the White House and fulfilling her duties as First Lady.
Eh. These designers dress the wives and daughters of dictators ALL THE TIME. All the time! Grace Mugabe has quite the couture collection, as does Cameroonian dictator Paul Biya’s wife Chantal, just to name two examples.
Hypocrisy thy name is fashion.
Well if Hugo Boss can make come back after dressing the Nazi Party….
They have money. I don’t understand what’s stopping them from going out and buying a dress?
I have never heard so many bitter losers in my life! I would love to see a face to go with all these vicious comments about the Trump women’s beauty. What a shame.
You know what’s a shame. A shame is Trump “winning” the election with the help of Russia.
I wonder if Drumpf is Putin’s puppet or marionette. This keeps me up at nights.
But it’s totes cool when conservatives call Michell Obama a primate, right? Lets be honest here, we’re trading an elegant, compassionate, empathetic , highly educated and very motivated and hard working first lady for a plastic trophy wife who has a history of shooting girl on girl nudie pics. It’s a astronomically large step down and I refuse to pretend otherwise.
This times one million.
Yes, yes, and yes, Chewbacca.
Not sure the Trumps can actually be seen wearing high fashion, they will have to maintain that ‘conservative, new money’ look. Their self proclaimed outsider status won them the election. A lot of contemporary fashion is ironical, but Melania cannot look like she has a brain of her own, she must stick to the trophy wife wardrobe. Ivanka can look smart – power suits, power sheaths – but in a very bland and work-focused way, she must not look refined.
Their bland bad taste is so consistent that I’m sure it must be a conscious choice. They never stray towards the charmingly unkempt or the truly, hilariously-over-the-top vulgar.
Seems like she prefers naked at least in her modeling porn days.
Well so far, I haven’t seen anyone refusing the Trumps much.
BTW, Sophie Theallet couldn’t buy this media coverage……………….
Tommy Hilfiger is a known racist who has made comments in the past about not wanting black people wearing his clothes, take that for what it’s’ worth
If you haven’t read the NY Times story about the wall Trump built in Scotland go check it out. It tells you all you need to know about Trump’s character.
In what universe is Hilfiger seen as a designer of note? Who cares who he wants to “dress?” Has anyone ever been photographed at a gala in a “Hilfiger?”
In answer to your last question, of course.
Melania prefers to go nude, so no bigly.
I don’t know if anyone posted this. Read the reviews….(& customer question and answer)
https://www.amazon.com/Trump-America-Great-Collectible-Ornament/dp/B01N67D8HO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480106919&sr=8-1&keywords=make+america+great+cap+ornament
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂That is killer!!!!! Thanks for the yuge surge of hilarity. It was tremendous!!!
@SusanneToo
Some of the writers are brilliant. Tears were rolling down my face as I read some of the “reviews”.
😂
Please share the link with like-minded people who need a laugh and deplorables who need a reality check/kick in the ass.
I know Bezos opposed trump. Maybe this is Jeff’s present to us.😂😂😂😂 Bigly thanks for finding and posting.
Astonishing how many cats disappeared after the ornament arrived.😂😂😂😂
I fear any links to promote Trump propaganda and ventures. It just gives him more strength and I really don’t want him to have the last laugh. His products should be boycotted because it is too darn easy to normalize the unacceptable things he has said and done.
@robyn. Did you look at the link and the reviews and q&a’s? I think it might be a yuge bigly joke. If it’s for real, then the joke’s on them.
Hahahahahahaha! Thanks so much, really needed those hilarious comments!
I think she’s OK. Honestly, she’s very attractive, has a lovely figure, and has the potential to be a boon to the industry. She’s got that savage beauty. While I have never appreciated Tommy Hilfiger’s clothing, I do agree that designers/businesses should remain agnostic about politics. Also, I don’t think Melania is crying out for people like Theallet to dress her… “Theallet not that great”.
Savage beauty? Okay, if you say so. To me what’s “savage” is Trump colluding with Russia to get votes and not getting arrested for treason.
I agree with you. I don’t think she will have a problem dressing herself if it comes to that. She has done well enough so far.
Savage beauty? So that’s what “going overboard with the plastic surgery” is being called these days. Good to know.
I highly respect the brands that take a stand and hold it, but I don’t doubt that the need to promote and make a turnover will prevail eventually.
The only way I see it lasting longer is if the Trump presidency continues as a massive clusterf**k, whereby associating your brand with him will actually decrease sales. Then they’ll happily stay away.
Clinton will participate in recount, even though she doesn’t believe it will change the election outcome.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-recount_us_5839ad95e4b09b605600a69b
One can only hope that many designers will make this choice and hold their ground. It should be just the beginning of various forms protest against the Trump presidency throughout the country. Nothing about Trump or his alt-right, neo-nazi buddies should be normalized, it should be resisted at all costs. RESIST TRUMP.
About the trump crime family
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/us/politics/donald-trump-international-business.html?_r=0&referer=
Love all the people here who think it’s okay to slut-shame someone for nothing, simply because they don’t like her husband. What a bunch of hypocrites.
There’s a lot of lying going on for people who claim to tell it like it is. Melania is right there with her husband 100 percent, as she likes to say, lying about her education, her early immigration status and dismissing her husband’s “locker room” talk. When her husband tried to shame a candidate’s wife comparing her with a picture of his porn star model wife, Melania was quiet. I think she is complicate and fair game in her own right as Trump’s enabler.
Who cares? I’m sure the Trumps don’t . There are plenty of designers who will want to be seen dressing the FLOTUS and the Presiden’ts daughter. There are also plenty of designers outside of the U.S. who will as well. These designers have such huge egos that they actually believe they have that much power over people. Honestly.
Do get over yourselves designers, you’re dressmakers with an attitude nothing more, the world does not revolve around you , pat yourself on the back all you like for refusing to dress the Trump ladies but no one really cares. If people can be sent to prison or bankrupted in the courts because they won’t make a cake for a gay couple whose life choices don’t agree with their own beliefs , where does this attitude differ.