By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Related Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Melania Trump mentioned “it’s unimaginable” to see her white and black-trimmed inaugural ball robe on show on the Smithsonian Establishment’s Nationwide Museum of American Historical past.
It’s the second inaugural robe she has turned over to the First Women Assortment on the museum, following the donation of her 2017 robe.
On Friday, Melania Trump continued the long-standing custom of first women donating their inaugural robes when she handed over the strapless white and black-trimmed sheath and a black neckpiece adorned with a replica of a Harry Winston diamond brooch she wore on the night time of Jan. 20, 2025. The ensemble was on show on a model on stage.
First woman Melania Trump presents her 2025 inaugural ball robe to the Smithsonian Nationwide Museum of American Historical past, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Picture/Allison Robbert)
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First woman Melania Trump presents her 2025 inaugural ball robe to the Smithsonian Nationwide Museum of American Historical past, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Picture/Allison Robbert)
She gave transient remarks in regards to the robe, its which means and her love of trend design, and described it as greater than a gown.
“That is greater than 50 years of schooling, expertise, and knowledge realized with every thread, every sew, every sharp edge,” she mentioned. “The meticulously shaped black form ‘Z’ on the entrance bodice summons a long time of my early recollections, life experiences, and influences. And, all of those tales are tucked deep inside its crisp, robust seams — endlessly.”
The primary woman, a former trend mannequin, mentioned trend design is one other type of inventive expression and that the black and white within the robe “units a temper wealthy with emotion.”
“This gown speaks with a definite standpoint, a contemporary silhouette, daring and dignified, and ruthlessly stylish,” she mentioned.
After a brief program, the model was taken upstairs and added to the primary women’ exhibit, which options greater than two dozen of their robes. Melania Trump and Herve Pierre, her longtime stylist and the designer of each of her robes, got here to see the robe in its see-through case.
“It’s unimaginable. It’s a historic second,” she mentioned when a reporter requested the way it felt to see the robe on show. The museum was reopening to the general public Friday afternoon.
