For President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress on Tuesday, first lady Melania Trump wore a black, belted Michael Kors outfit that retailed for $10,000.
Though some news outlets were shocked by the color, sequins and the price tag of the outfit, others pointed out that Kors was actually a major Hillary Clinton supporter. On Wednesday morning, Kors politely pointed out in a statement that he did not dress Melania for the event:
“Mrs. Trump has been a longtime client at our New York boutique,” he said, according to the New York Times. “She has a keen understanding of what works best for her and her lifestyle. My embroidered black suit reflects the streamlined glamour that she is known for.”
Dressing the first lady of the United States is a contentious issue because of her husband’s policies and actions, before and after he was elected president. Many designers have made it clear that they will not dress Melania, including Derek Lam, Marc Jacobs, Phillip Lim and, perhaps most outspokenly, Tom Ford and Sophie Theallet.
“As one who celebrates and strives for diversity, individual freedom, and respect for all lifestyles, I will not participate in dressing or associating in any way with the next first lady. The rhetoric of racism, sexism and xenophobia unleashed by her husband’s presidential campaign are incompatible with the shared values we live by,” Theallet said in an open letter she wrote in November.
Other designers, like Carolina Herrera, Tommy Hilfiger and Thom Browne, have said they would willingly dress the FLOTUS.
“I don’t have a problem dressing the first lady of this country, whoever it is,” Herrera said at her recent New York Fashion Week show. “I think it’s out of respect for the United States.”
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