Melania Trump Donates Hervé Pierre 2025 Inaugural Gown to Smithsonian

Hervé Pierre’s modernist eye was on full display when Melania Trump handed her 2025 inaugural ball gown to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. The strapless, off-white silk crepe dress with black trim and a black neckpiece bearing a reproduction of the Harry Winston diamond brooch that she wore to three inaugural balls on January 20, 2025 reads like studied restraint; I think it registers as couture minimalism, and you may disagree. The presentation took place Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 at the museum’s First Ladies Collection.

The garment’s material and silhouette were described by The Well News as a strapless, off-white silk crepe piece with black trim, while AP called it white and black-trimmed and the New York Post noted a black ribbon winding around the dress. East Wing Magazine likewise identified the gown as strapless and credited Hervé Pierre, the longtime designer and stylist who also created Mrs. Trump’s 2017 inaugural gown, as attending the event. Alongside the gown the museum accessioned a black neckpiece adorned with a reproduction of the Harry Winston brooch worn to three inaugural balls on January 20, 2025.

The donation is notable for its place in museum history. The Smithsonian, as reported by CNN, marks Mrs. Trump as the first non-consecutive First Lady to donate an inaugural gown for a second time and only the second First Lady in history to have two inaugural ball gowns represented in the collection. Mrs. Trump previously donated her 2017 Hervé Pierre gown in October 2017; descriptions vary between East Wing’s cream colored, off-shoulder gown with red trim and The Well News’s silk crepe column gown with a slit and ruffle accent. East Wing reported that both gowns were on display during Friday’s presentation.

At the podium Mrs. Trump praised the team behind the dress and the collaborative process with Pierre. She told the room “it’s incredible” to see the gown on display and, as reported by The Well News, lauded the craftsmanship: “Behind every true couture piece stands a superior team of patternmakers, seamstresses, and artisans who transform a creative idea into reality. My team of experts who constructed this gown have obsessed to master their discipline. I am proud to collaborate with each of them.” Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III described the donation as a milestone in the First Ladies Collection, saying “I am extremely excited because Mrs. Trump’s second inaugural gown will join this collection, and I don’t want to understate how important it is that this is really a milestone in its own right.”

Conservators have already been involved in the process. The Well News reported that shortly after inauguration the museum’s conservators worked with the White House to facilitate donation and crafted a mannequin made to resemble the first lady’s physique as closely as possible. Photographs from the presentation, credited AP Photo/Allison Robbert, show Melania Trump and Hervé Pierre posing with the gown; The Well News also noted that Mrs. Trump wore a black jacket and knee-high black boots to the event. The accession tightens Pierre’s presence across two inaugural moments and enlarges the First Ladies Collection’s narrative about fashion, craftsmanship, and ceremony.