Was there a protest message behind Melania Trump's Valentino dress?

When is a dress just a lovely dress and when is a dress making a veiled political point?

Sometimes this dichotomy can be tricky to decipher, especially when it's Melania Trump we're talking about. This is the woman, after all, who wore a fuchsia Gucci pussy bow blouse after her husband was revealed to have boasted about 'pussy grabbing' and chose a full colour-of-the-suffragettes-white look within days of his affair with Stormy Daniels being revealed. These could be put down as mere coincidence, but then again...

Yesterday, the Trumps met King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain for what was meant to have been a perfectly normal, diplomatic box-ticking afternoon tea. However, the row over young children being detained at the Mexican border rather overshadowed proceedings. 

Earlier, Melania had given a statement which seemed to implicitly condemn her husband's policy. Her spokeswoman told CNN that, 'Mrs Trump hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform'.

Her opinion seemed clear, but was her Valentino dress chosen as a another, albeit more subtle, means of making the point? 

Valentino is a house which the First Lady has worn numerous times previously but the floral dress in question is from the label's Resort 2018 collection which was shown in- and inspired by- New York. While hip-hop was a central reference for the sportier-than-usual offering,  creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli spoke about the idea of cultural melting pots and “finding the harmony in difference”.  

“You can’t design clothes with your eyes closed to what’s happening around you now,” Piccioli told The Telegraph after showing the collection in May 2017, in reference to his designs nodding to the political climate.

This was not protest fashion in the sense of slogan t-shirts, but the same elegant, refined clothes for which Valentino is renowned designed through the lens of calling out contemporary social issues. Which is why at first glance, the chic patterned dresses, tailored coats and relaxed tailoring in the collection seem as if they are merely great buys, rather than laden with meaning. 

Melania Trump: Best looks

Of course, Mrs Trump is known for her love of fashion so she may quite simply have fallen for this dress without contemplating the intentions behind the collection in which it was presented. Given her previous form, though, there is every chance this was a dress selected with the intention of adding to her message of disapproval of the President's policy. 

After the meeting with the King and Queen of Spain, she tweeted a message about 'focusing on the ways we can positively impact children'. 

Queen Letizia, known for her meticulous approach to regal dressing, offered a more straightforwardly diplomatic message with her outfit for the meeting. She wore a pink shift dress by American designer Michael Kors.