Bernard Arnault and Children Attend Trump Inauguration
Bernard Arnault joined the slew of business titans at the swearing-in of Donald Trump as the 47th U.S. president in the U.S. Capitol’s Rotunda.
The founder, chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Mo?t Hennessey Louis Vuitton was front and center Monday along with his wife Helene, daughter Delphine and son Alexandre, who had all traveled to the historic event — just a day before Pharrell Williams’ next Louis Vuitton menswear runway show. The family had prime seating just a row or two behind former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, the former Secretary of State, former President George Bush and his wife Laura and former President Barack Obama.
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They were also across the aisle from other business leaders, including Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple and Elon Musk.
While many of the politicians in the crowd like the Clintons and Obama sported the color of their respective political parties, some like Bush crossed party lines so to speak by wearing a blue suit and blue tie. His former first lady wife took a different track altogether, wearing a brown dress. The Arnaults also dressed to stay above the fray, with the father and son turning up in slim dark suits with narrow dark ties. Helene and Delphine also hinted at neutrality with the former wearing a black turtleneck with a white jacket, and the latter staying with the always appropriate black attire.
Melania Trump’s choices of a Dior coat for Saturday night’s private reception and fireworks display at the Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Va., and a black Dior cape-style coat for Sunday’s wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery must have been welcome sights for Delphine Arnault, who is chairman and CEO of Dior as well as a member of LVMH‘s board of directors and executive committee. She is also the force behind the LVMH Prize for Young Designers and is an instrumental talent scout for the group. She recently had her own reason for formality, having received the title of Knight of the Légion d’Honneur in a promotion that includes ambassadors, former ministers and those who helped restore the Notre-Dame cathedral.
Her 32-year-old brother, who serves as executive vice president of product, communication and industrial at Tiffany & Co., attracted a lot of attention on social media for attending a pro-Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in September. After his appearance was referenced in an article in WWD, a Tiffany & Co.’s spokesperson noted that he had also attended organized events for Joe Biden and fundraisers for the then-Vice President Kamala Harris. While campaigning against Trump, Harris wore her share of Tiffany & Co. jewelry, including its Graduated Link Necklace in 18-karat yellow gold.
Alexandre Arnault was on hand when his father traveled to New York in 2017 to meet with Trump in Trump Tower before he started his first administration. Two years later, the French luxury titan invited Trump to tour LVMH’s leather goods workshop in rural Alvarado, Texas, so that Trump could tout his administration’s jobs-creation record.
European luxury houses are increasingly keen to dress FLOTUS for key occasions, according to her stylist Herve Pierre. He told WWD last week that after she wears a designer item, shoppers routinely contact the brand the next day to inquire about purchasing the same look.
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