Karate suits to colonial helmets — Melania doesn’t always catch her mark when dressing up for a country

• First Lady Melania Trump was recently called out on social media for wearing a ‘karate outfit’ on the first day of her visit to India.
  
• Melania is known for making outfit choices that acknowledge the country she’s visiting.
  
• In the past, she has been called for wearing a white pith helmet on her visit to Kenya — a symbol of colonial rule in Africa.
  

Fashion has been instrumental in making political and social statements for centuries — from Winston Churchill’s Homburg hat to Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s Nehru jacket. First Lady Melania Trump is no exception as she accompanies her husband President Donald Trump on his two-day visit to India.

Known for being inspired by Jacqueline Kennedy, Melania followed her footsteps with a monochromatic crepe jumpsuit on her first day in India. However, the white ensemble designed by Nicolas Caito and Herve Pierre featured a belt made out of ancient Indian textile. Social media called it out for looking like a ‘karate outfit’.


Dress to impress the country
This is not the first time that she’s made an outfit choice to acknowledge the country that she’s visiting. While visiting Saudi Arabia in 2017, she wore a gold necklace and a chunky Saint Laurent gold python belt.

The same year, Melania wore a green dress while hosting the King and Queen of Jordan at the White House. According to the Telegraph, the emerald green was a nod to the Jordanian flag and symbolic of the role the colour plays in the Islamic faith.

But it’s not always gone according to plan. When on safari in Kenya, the First Lady was criticised for her jodhpur pants, boots and, specifically, a white pith helmet. Critics pointed out that her headgear was a symbol of colonial rule in Africa and in bad taste.


On her visit to France, her trolls drew comparisons of her Herve Pierre hat to Michelle Pfieffer in Scarface while others compared her to Beyonce in the Formation music video.


Things aren’t much better back home
Even at home, her outfits have often been called out for missing the mark. During the 2018 State of the Union address — wearing another Kennedy-inspired pantsuit — Melania was trolled for wearing white in a sea of Democrats dressed in black to honour the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.

The next year, she wore a black Burberry coat dress instead. This time, the tables were flipped as the Democrats came dressed in white to celebrate women’s’ right to vote.

Everything has a meaning
While some are hoping that the First Lady will pleasantly surprise the crowds by wearing a dress designed by someone local, the odds are unlikely. Unlike her predecessor, Michelle Obama, Melania has not been one to go out of her way to find regionally specific designers based on her destination.

Instead, she picks an outfit based on the nature of the event, according to author and journalist Kate Bennett, who wrote Free, Melania: The Unauthorised Biography.

“Having covered her for as long as I have, each thing she does has meaning to it, even the clothing she wears,” wrote Bennette.

Continuing with the white motif, Melania has switched to a printed shirtdress on her second day in India. The understated look was accessorised with a red belt and a pair of white stilettos.



See also:
Melania Trump's attire – which Twitter called a karate outfit – has an Indian vintage element