Melania on her way to Houston. Photo: Getty Images.

Melania Trump and the Chilling Artifice of Fashion

By Rhonda Garelick

August 30, 2017

Yesterday, heated debate over Melania Trump’s travel attire nearly overshadowed the very purpose of her trip: to bear witness to the devastation of the Houston hurricane. At stake was whether Melania’s look — slim black pants, face-framing blowout, green silk bomber, mirrored aviators, and sky-high snakeskin stilettos — was appropriately sober and practical for communing with victims of biblical-level flooding.

Photo: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images

The Strange Experience of Watching Melania Trump Speak

By Rhonda GarelickSeptember 22, 2017

On Wednesday, Melania Trump gave a speech before a luncheon gathering of United Nations spouses, addressing cyberbullying and child advocacy. As usual, her look, affect, and performance conveyed infinitely more than her brief scripted speech ever could. Melania, in fact, is beginning to seem like an increasingly powerful — albeit unacknowledged — expression of all the madness swirling around the current administration.