On Tuesday night, Melania Trump exited the White House alongside her husband, President Donald Trump, to attend the 2026 State of the Union address. The first lady stepped out in a gray pantsuit and white button-up shirt by Dolce & Gabbana—a favorite label of hers. The suit struck a notably more somber note than Mrs. Trump’s previous SOTU looks, which included a Burberry coatdress in 2019 and a navy Dolce & Gabbana skirt suit in 2020. In fact, Mrs. Trump’s pantsuit—paired with matching Manolo Blahnik heels—evoked the suit in her official White House portrait, which was also by Dolce & Gabbana.
This latest appearance comes not long after a visit to the Smithsonian last week, when Mrs. Trump’s second inaugural gown joined the museum’s collection. For that occasion, she wore Bottega Veneta and Christian Louboutin.
At a moment when many American labels, both big and small, have been destabilized by President Trump’s tariffs—before his fall 2026 show, designer Prabal Gurung said that tariffs were consuming his daily business meetings like they never had before—Mrs. Trump’s continued embrace of European clothes is noteworthy.
Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Following the release of the film Melania, a style-centered portrait of the first lady, in theaters and on Prime Video last month, one designer reached by Vogue explained that much of Mrs. Trump’s wardrobe is purchased—“just like any other” high-profile client—rather than loaned. If that’s true, and Mrs. Trump refrained from putting money behind an American designer for the SOTU, then it’s also somewhat ironic, given her husband’s emphasis on American industry during Tuesday night’s address.
Of course, Mrs. Trump has embraced American fashion at key moments, sporting Ralph Lauren to her husband’s first inauguration ceremony and Adam Lippes to his second. But her stylist, Hervé Pierre, has demurred from assigning political significance to her clothes; in 2019, he told WWD that there was no deeper meaning behind her military-style Burberry coat for that year’s State of the Union. That may well be the case, but to onlookers across the country, even a sober, slim-fit pantsuit can send a complicated message.