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Herve Pierre Speaks Out About Designing Melania Trump’s Inaugural Ball Gown: ‘She Knows Fashion’

Defending his design. Hervé Pierre, the former Carolina Herrera creative director who crafted Melania Trump’s inaugural ball gown, shared some insights about the collaboration in an online interview with Harper’s Bazaar.

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and first lady Melania Trump thank guests during the inaugural Armed Forces Ball at the National Building Museum January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. The ball is part of the celebrations following Trump's inauguration.
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and first lady Melania Trump thank guests during the inaugural Armed Forces Ball at the National Building Museum January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. The ball is part of the celebrations following Trump’s inauguration.

Related: PHOTOS: See Melania Trump's Style Evolution, From 1999 to Today

“She knows fashion — she was a model and has worked in a design studio — so she knows about construction,” the designer, 52, told the mag. “When I brought her fabric swatches, she immediately picked the heaviest, most beautiful six-ply silk from Italy. She knows about fabrics. It was a very organic conversation because we have the same vocabulary.”

Related: PHOTOS: Inside Donald Trump's Inauguration Freedom Ball

With that knowledge, the two teamed up to craft Mrs. Trump’s cream, off-the-shoulder column dress with a daring above-the-knee slit, a ruffled accent along the front and a skinny red belt to tie everything together. “She was very specific about the neckline, about all the lines being parallel,” Pierre continued. “It was important for us not to follow any recipe for a ‘First Lady gown.'”

Herve Pierre
Herve Pierre Paul Porter/BFA/REX/Shutterstock

Another specification from Trump was the dress’ mobility. At one fitting, Pierre recalled a particular note from his client: “Hervé, I love you, but I cannot move my arm to hold my husband’s arm when we dance,” she said.

Although painstaking detail and attention were paid to the creation of this dress (that will one day be a part of the First Ladies Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History), Pierre insists that the message behind it is bigger than aesthetics. “Her next four years as First Lady are going to be, like this gown, straight to the point, perhaps with a single measured detail,” he revealed. “I believe it was something modern, which was not done before—thank God. The lines are as sleek as a paper cut; the curves of the skirt are fluid, yet the overall shape is sharp and intense. For me, it reflects her personality.”

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