It started Saturday night at the vice president-elect’s dinner, when she wore a black velvet column from Oscar de la Renta, a bipartisan brand for first ladies on both sides of the aisle. The balancing act continued at the wreath-laying ceremony in Arlington, when Ms. Vance appeared in a white matching dress and coat by Sergio Hudson, a nod to a black designer favored by Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris.
Her range was further underlined at the president-elect’s candlelight dinner, when she wore a strapless dress by Indian designer Gaurav Gupta in honor of her Indian heritage. And it culminated in even more Oscar de la Renta at the swearing-in. (Oscar de la Renta also dressed Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush for previous inaugurations.)
Ms. Vance’s attire, along with Ms. Trump’s appearance, reflected the fact that some fashion industry leaders, like the tech titans at the swearing-in, are putting distance between themselves and the much-publicized efforts of late 2016 to take distance from the Trump family and the government. Instead, they reframe the relationship.
“The tradition of the presidential inauguration epitomizes the beauty of American democracy,” Lippes said in a statement. “Madam. Trump’s outfit was made by some of America’s finest artisans, and I am very proud to be able to show such work to the world.”
Alex Bolen, the CEO of Oscar de la Renta (who also outfitted Ivanka Trump for the Arlington ceremony and candlelight dinner, and may hold the record for most inaugural outfits of any label), wrote much the same thing in a text. “Oscar always felt that we should try to associate our brand with successful women – leaders and doers,” he said. “We would never turn down the opportunity to work with a leader based solely on their politics. Furthermore, as an American brand, we are honored to be associated with the wonderful traditions surrounding our presidential inauguration.”
Bernard Arnault, the CEO of LVMH, was also at the swearing-in, as were his daughter Delphine, the CEO of Dior, and his son Alexandre, who recently moved within the luxury empire from Tiffany & Company to Moët Hennessy.
It’s not just the names of the Gulf of Mexico and Denali that may change.
