The looks of Donald Trump, Melania Trump and Co. already reveal that much about the US President's future policies

Trump's inauguration: What the president's and his supporters' fashion reveals about his political plans

Anyone who thinks fashion is a superficial game for people who likego, he's very wrong. Fashion is used to express identities, tell stories – and even spread political ideologies. This became all too clear at Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025 - at which theFrom Melania Trump to Ivanka Trump to Mark Zuckerberg, all of them anticipated the conservative policies that would take shape under Donald Trump.

The conservative fashion at Donald Trump's inauguration was a preview of his future policies

Melania Trump

Let's start with Melania Trump - if only because the First Lady in the USA has always been given a particularly representative position. Her look at Donald Trump's inauguration is perhaps best described as: “Incognito mode” but make it fashion. Because her ensemble consists of a navy blue, double-breastedand a wide-brimmed hat, represented at the same time a kind of protective shield between her and the world (her eyes could not be seen from almost any camera angle) as well as an almost military toughness. So completely different than she appeared at the last inauguration in 2017.

At the time, Melania Trump wore a powder blue Ralph Lauren coat dress with matching gloves - look at the face and hersfree and open. A look that allowed for a number of comparisons to Jacky Kennedy - and which was, to a certain extent, an emergency solution for her stylists at the time. A number of designers who were asked had boycotted their collaboration with the Trumps at the time. The openness, as her new look clearly shows, has given way to an attitude that seems to say: Times are serious and I am ready to play my role as First Lady, albeit from the reserved shadow position.

An image that is entirely in line with Donald Trump's politics, who, in a typical right-wing conservative gesture, now wants to “clean up” and take tough action - whether at the borders with Mexico, where a declared state of emergency now requires even more military force against migrants should make possible, or in the question of a third gender entry in the passport, which Donald Trump is moving away from again.

But Melania's outfit not only expresses the political status of the presidential couple aesthetically, but also in terms of the people behind the look. This is what Adam Lippes, the American, wrote, who designed her coat: “The tradition of presidential inaugurations embodies the beauty of American democracy, and today we had the honor of dressing our First Lady, Melania Trump. Mrs. Trump's outfit was designed by some of America's finest artisans and I am very proud to show the world this work."

Ivanka Trump

And in another sense, fashion on Inauguration Day recorded a hyper-conservative image - namely in the sense of the role of women. With a look by Ivanka Trump, whose ensemble (as the Chief Fashion Critic of the New York Times, Vanessa Friedman noted) set both accents of the English nobility (fascinator) and - like that-Channel diet_prada commented - reminiscent of the dystopian story “The Handmaid's Tale”, in which the last fertile women in the world are kept as slaves. The latter association arose – we hope – by chance.

The look screams for a new world in which those in power will care little about women's rights, but it also represents a long-standing power system (like the British royal family, from which we usually see the chic mini hats). , which Trump appears to be aiming for regardless of the four-year term he is awarded. One of the largestReproductive rights information websiteThe government was conveniently taken offline on the first night of Trump's presidency.

Donald Trump

And Donald Trump himself? He opted for a suit and tie combination that looks so simple that you almost get the impression that no message was being sent. While he wore a fiery red tie that seemed to scream “Republican” at his first inauguration, this time his stylist opted for a more subtle wine red. His coat, on the other hand, was almost the same as in 2017, with a simple, narrow lapel that every second person feels like has in their closet. So you might think it's not particularly meaningful. But it is precisely this simplicity that has been Donald Trump's fashionable recipe for success for years.

As Ryan Teague Beckwith wrote in Time Magazine back in 2016, "Donald Trump's choice of clothing reflects the theme of his campaign: America was great once - probably sometime in the mid-1980s - but it isn't anymore, and I'm going to bring back the old days." .” A time when America's middle class (the class to which Donald Trump primarily appeals with his MAGA slogan) went to work every day in suits - not to make a big impression with elegant, wide collars, but to be an individual in the world Mass and the American Dream as a whole to disappear.

Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai

Donald Trump's youngest and most powerful supporters, the tech billionaires Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Sundar Pichai, the Meta, should not go unmentioned., Google and Amazon lead or represent. And they kept their fashion just as simple as Donald Trump himself. However, they wore a suit, which is a real fashion novelty, especially for Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. After all, the two of them appear in the typical New Work group leader uniform of gray fleece and slacks.

For their appearance at the inauguration, however, they adapted to the occasion and the elected president (two of them even with very similar ties) and made it clear in both fashion and politics: We stand behind Trump. A fusion of economic, media and political interests that will become very dangerous, especially for the vulnerable communities in and outside the USA. We've known this since Meta at leastFact checksand internal diversity programs stopped.

At the inauguration of Donald Trump, fashion played a significant role in ensuring that the most powerful players on the guest list were able to express, without words, how this moment should be perceived by the public. As a representation of the strength of the hard-working man - and as a turning point back to one.

This article was created in collaboration with our GLAMOR colleagues from the USA.