Ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration this week, speculation was rife over which designer would dress the First Lady, Melania Trump.
Numerous big name designers came out declaring they would not dress the incoming First Lady due to her husband’s policies.
So when Melania stepped out on January 20 wearing a cornflower blue ensemble by US designer Ralph Lauren opinion was quickly divided.
“With the historic swearing-in of her husband, Donald J. Trump, as the forty-fifth President of the United States, the First Lady–elect will become America’s new First Lady wearing an American designer who transformed American fashion, Ralph Lauren,” a spokesperson for Trump told WWD, pointing out that the former model did in fact work with the designer on the look, and this one wasn’t bought off the rack, as previous looks have been.
While the designer has never officially endorsed a political party, he has dressed a number of first ladies including Hillary Clinton (including during her own 2016 presidential campaign), Nancy Reagan and Betty Ford.
A hashtag #boycottralphlauren quickly cropped up online, with users slamming the designer for working with the controversial First Lady.
Dolce and Gabanna faced similar criticism after they Instagrammed a photo of Melania wearing one of their dresses (which she purchased herself) on New Years Eve using the hashtag #DGwoman.
The fashion industry backlash comes after a number of high-profile designers including Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Derek Lam, Phillip Lim and Sophie Theallet spoke out saying they would not dress Melania.
“I have no interest whatsoever in dressing Melania Trump,” said Jacobs. “Personally, I’d rather put my energy into helping out those who will be hurt by [Donald] Trump and his supporters.”
Other users on social media did however applauded the designer for the look.
A spokesperson from Ralph Lauren told Glamour: “The Presidential Inauguration is a time for the United States to look our best to the world. It was important to us to uphold and celebrate the tradition of creating iconic American style for this moment.”
Daily Mail also reports that stocks in the company have risen since the inauguration, going from $88.20 a share on Thursday to now sit at $88.90.
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