Melania Trump donates inaugural gown to Smithsonian: 'This dress speaks with a distinct point of view'

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Melania Trump donates inaugural gown to Smithsonian: ‘This dress speaks with a distinct point of view’

Melania Trump’s 2025 inaugural gown is getting immortalized at the Smithsonian, securing a spot at an exhibition recognizing the country’s first ladies.

“This is not a dress. This is more than 50 years of education, experience and wisdom realized with each thread,” she said at a Friday presentation ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington.

Trump’s collaboration on the Hervé Pierre-designed, off-white dress with two striking bands of black silk gazar was featured heavily in her documentary film, “Melania.” The 55-year-old former model, who wore the outfit to President Trump’s second inaugural ball, opened up about the process, which she said she “relished,” in her remarks.

“This dress speaks with a distinct point of view,” Melania Trump said, “bold and dignified and ruthlessly chic.”

The “black and white masterpiece,” she said, “showcases America’s pure spirit of originality, superior engineering and boundless creativity.”

In addition to the dress, a reproduction of the 1955 Harry Winston brooch Trump wore on Inauguration Day will be on display at the museum. The first lady borrowed the original jewelry and pinned it to a black ribbon that she sported as a choker at the inaugural festivities.

“I want to thank Mrs. Trump for helping us to add to this important first ladies collection,” said Lonnie Bunch, Smithsonian Institution secretary.

“Each first lady has left their mark, not just on the Whtie House, but on the nation. Each first lady reflects the time in which she served,” Bunch said.

The trip to the Smithsonian marked a return visit for Trump. In 2017, she donated the gown she sported at Donald Trump’s first inauguration to the same Smithsonian exhibition.

The museum’s first ladies-focused display includes 26 gowns. According to the Smithsonian, its aim is to encourage “visitors to consider the changing role played by the first lady and American women over the past 200 years.”

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