Melania Trump's style evokes Jackie Kennedy and Nancy Reagan

If Melania Trump had former first ladies on her mood board while shopping for the inauguration, then it was dominated by Jackie Kennedy’s ceremonial formalities on the West Lawn and Nancy Reagan’s evening celebrations.

The skirt suit and matching gloves in retro powder blue the new first lady wore for the swearing in was followed by a vanilla, off-the-shoulder evening gown. TheDRESS, a collaboration between Mrs Trump and the designer Hervé Pierre, featured a full-length ruffle in six layers of crepe, a narrow red ribbon bow belt and a deep side slit. Bold and dynamic rather than romantic or ladylike, it was closer to the vigorous, red-blooded style that Nancy Reagan brought to the White House in the 1980s than to Jackie Kennedy’s demure elegance or to Michelle Obama’s take on modern romance.

Ivanka Trump, the first daughter, also appeared to have taken a leaf out of Nancy Reagan’s book. The full SKIRT of her sequinned Carolina Herrera gown was reminiscent of the early 1980s White House, while the deep V-neck nodded to the red lace gown Mrs Reagan wore in 1988 for her husband’s endorsement dinner of George HW Bush.

There was a striking contrast between the soft silhouette of Ivanka’s champagne-coloured gown and the staccato details of Melania’s DRESS. The new first lady’s decision to take authorship of her own gown, creating a dress in partnership with a designer whose name is less well known than hers, seems to speak of confidence and self-belief. The White House bio of the new first lady mentions her design prowess, including her short-lived jewellery label, in its list of her accomplishments. The president is perhaps not the only one in the White House humming My Way.

But while Hervé Pierre has little public profile, he has huge experience. He worked at Carolina Herrera, a house that has DRESSED a succession of first ladies, for 14 years. He rose to creative Director before leaving last year. Pierre told Womenswear Daily that the design process was “organic … [Mrs Trump] has a very strong personal style and doesn’t plan to change it because of her new function. So it was fun to respect her very tailored sense of fashion … she knows what she likes.”

According to a report on vogue.com, the French-born Pierre, who headed the house of Balmain before working at Carolina Herrera, is poised to become a sartorial adviser to the first lady, and helped her to style the blue Ralph Lauren SUIT worn earlier in the day.

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5 KILLED AFTER GUNFIRE ERUPTS AT MUSIC FESTIVAL

The shooting broke out at an electronic music festival that had drawn visitors from around the world to the beach resort city.

Video of the aftermath posted on social media showed frantic club-goers rushing into the street as rescuers arrived.

Two Canadians, an Italian and a Colombian were among the dead, state prosecutor Miguel Angel Pech Cen told reporters.

“I heard what sounded like firecrackers. Everyone started screaming and running for cover,” said Andrew Badecker, who was outside the Blue Parrot club when the shooting began.

People climbed over a fence behind the club to escape, the professional poker player said.

“I was trying to help people over,” he said. “I was worried someone would get trampled.”

In fact, a woman died in a stampede of people rushing out of the club, the state prosecutor said.

Several victims were found dead on the beach outside, he said.

Playa del Carmen, about 40 miles (64 km) south of Cancun, is a popular destination for tourists from Mexico and around the world.

It’s located in Mexico’s Quintana Roo state, which has maintained a reputation as a safe travel destination even as other parts of the country have struggled to deal with drug-related violence.

‘We are overcome with grief’

Of the 15 people injured, seven remained hospitalized Monday morning, Pech Cen said.Authorities haven’t released the nationalities of all the victims. Five Mexicans, four Americans, two Canadians and a Colombian were listed among the wounded.

On a Facebook page for The BPM Festival, a 10-day electronic music event that was closing Monday, organizers said a lone shooter had opened fire in front of the Blue Parrot. Three members of the event’s security team were killed trying to protect patrons inside, the festival said.

The festival’s statement said four people had been killed in the shooting. Officials could not be immediately reached to explain the discrepancy in the death toll.

“We are overcome with grief over this senseless act of violence and we are cooperating fully with local law enforcement and government officials as they continue their investigation,” the festival statement reads.

Authorities interrogating three people

Authorities in Quintana Roo say they’re still trying to determine who was behind the shooting — and why it occurred.

A preliminary investigation indicates that the shootout began when members of event security tried to stop a person who entered the club with a firearm, Pech Cen said.

Investigators found 20 shell casings at the scene.

Authorities are interrogating three people, the state prosecutor said, but it’s unclear whether they were involved in the shooting.

CNN’s Ana Melgar, Leyla Santiago, Alison Daye, Elwyn Lopez, Daniela Patiño and Julia Jones contributed to this report.

Will Demonetisation Disrupt India’s Lucrative Wedding Business?

The scarlet saris, with their fantastical patterns of birds, flowers, Hindu temples and local symbols hugged the walls of the wedding area. They were not just a feast for the eyes, but also a precious support of India’s heritage.


Sabyasachi Mukherjee is one of India’s leading fashion designers, who has kept the nation’s artistic flame alive not only through local crafts such as handloom weaving, which dates back a thousand years, but by creating an aura that can only be found on the subcontinent.

I was hardly off the plane to Mumbai before I was propelled by Vogue India to the Sabyasachi store, breathing in the atmosphere of the nation’s heritage, from traditional Hyderabad pearl jewellery through fine china to dense embroidery – anything you might need for a traditionally colourful Indian wedding.

“We still try very, very hard to preserve hand embroidery. We work in the whole country – I have embroiderers in the Punjab, in Rajasthan, in Bengal and Bangladesh,” Sabyasachi said. “I’m not saying this arrogantly, but I think it is better than any design house in the world can offer.”

I was carried away by the beauty of the handwork and Sabyasachi’s enthusiasm. But after hearing concerns over the country’s brutally sudden financial changes, I was asking Vogue India editors and designers whether demonetisation is going to disrupt India’s lucrative wedding business.


The government’s initiative to remove “black money” – unbanked, untaxed cash – from the economy came with almost no warning, back in November. And even though I was regaled with stories of a tycoon stuffing notes into his helicopter and others begging jewellers to exchange their entire stock for ill-gotten piles of rupees, anyone involved in the wedding world is nervous. The art and craft of bridalwear and all its ancillary business has for the longest time been supported by cash savings tucked under the bed to pay for a daughter’s nuptials.