Adam Lippes was “a bit worried” he’d receive a backlash for dressing Melania Trump for her husband Donald’s inauguration but the response was “overwhelmingly positive”.
Adam Lippes was “a bit worried” he’d receive a backlash for dressing Melania Trump for her husband Donald’s inauguration.
The First Lady stepped out in a tailored navy wool coat and pencil skirt and ivory silk crepe blouse by the designer, accessorised by an Eric Javitz flat-brimmed hat, to see her spouse sworn in as president for the second time earlier this month, and the designer was relieved that the response for his brand has been “overwhelmingly positive”, as he had some concerns because of the Commander-in-Chief’s divisive image.
He told WWD: “Of course, because of the tensions, I was a bit worried…I had seen and looked at Instagrams of what some people had been wearing for the weekend, and there was a lot of negativity.
“But there really wasn’t for us, even from my friends, or some people we work with who are definitely not from that political side.
“It really felt good. She really represented what a first lady should look like.”
Adam’s eponymous brand saw its social media following in the hours after the inauguration and his web store had its best week of sales in history, as well as a surge in physical shops.
He said: “There have been a lot of new customers and people placing orders and commenting about how happy they are to find a new, independent designer.
“Business going into this was really quite strong, but things like this certainly help.”
And while Adam received “some hateful” comments, he refused to engage.
He said: “Yes, there were some angry people, some hateful people, and I did not engage with that. I was even thinking, if this is really going to be a s*** show, I’m going to turn off our comments. And it wasn’t at all.
“I was really very proud that as an independent designer I was chosen for this stage, but not everything anyone does can always be met with a positive reaction. When I dressed Dr. Biden, I would also get hateful messages.”
The designer had no heistation in saying yes when Melania’s stylist, Hervé Pierre, got in touch.
He recalled how he was heading to the airport for a vacation in Japan in November and added: “I’m getting out of the car, and I see there’s a bunch of calls from a number I don’t know. And then I have an email from Hervé Pierre saying SOS, please call me, and this is the number to reach me on.
“It took a little back and forth, and I got a hold of him as I was getting on the plane.…He said ‘We’ve been discussing the inauguration and Mrs. Trump was wondering if you would consider making her day look.’ And, of course, without hesitation, I said yes.”
Adam Lippes feared backlash for dressing Melania Trump for inauguration
