First Lady Melania Trump Will Donate Her Inaugural Ball Gown
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First Lady Melania Trump will soon say goodbye to the custom Hervé Pierre gown she wore to the Inaugural Ball on January 20. This week, Trump will follow a 105-year-old tradition that began in 1912 and will donate her dress to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, specifically to a collection for its First Ladies exhibition.
“Mrs. Trump had a passion for design starting at very young age, and had a very precise idea of what she wanted to wear for the historic evening,” Trump’s Communications Director Stephanie Grisham told CNN. “She is honored to be able to donate her couture piece to such an iconic exhibit at the Smithsonian.”
Melania is set to participate in the gown presentation ceremony at D.C.'s National Museum of American History Friday at 10 a.m.
According to Lisa Kathleen Graddy, curator of the museum's First Ladies Collection, the act has been a tradition followed by every First Lady since Helen Herron Taft.
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“Since then, it’s become the custom for the Smithsonian to make the donation request, and for the First Lady to give her gown for the public to view,” she told CNN.
The Smithsonian reportedly works to put together a mannequin that resembles each First Lady’s figure and begins working with the garment after the inauguration.
Designer Hervé Pierre, formerly creative director at Carolina Herrera, will attend Friday's event as well.
