Ralph Lauren Boycotted After Brand Dresses Melania Trump For Inauguration

Melania Trump wore a powder-blue outfit on Friday to her husband’s inauguration, and now the designer that dressed her is coming under scrutiny.

People are now calling for a boycott of Ralph Lauren, the designer behind Melania’s dress, on social media as they label the brand as “supporting oppression,” according to Harper’s Bazaar.

“Some Twitter users believe the move shows that Lauren doesn’t care about sexual assault towards women – a reference to the numerous allegations that have emerged concerning the new President.”

There’s even a hashtag being used by those who support the boycott, #boycottRalphLauren, as people take to sharing their opinions and even tag the brand’s Twitter page in their rants.

“Ralph Lauren just hurt a lot of women today and we won’t forget. It’s not OK to support oppression. #boycottralphlauren #imwithtomford”

And while some may beg to state the designer had no choice in dressing Melania as the First Lady could have chosen to wear any brand, her powder-blue dress was a custom creation from Ralph Lauren.

“The brand designed a custom-made powder-blue dress for the new First Lady, which she wore with matching elbow-length gloves and diamond earrings.”

This means the clothing retailer did, in fact, make the decision to dress Mrs. Trump for her husband’s inauguration. And it seems some of the public is not happy with the brand’s decision to do so as they criticized them online and called for the boycott. One Twitter user even created an account to mock Melania with the handle “First Tramp @callgirlmelania.”

“Shame on you @RalphLauren for dressing the wife of incoming dictator. Anything for a buck. #BoycottRalphLauren #GrabYourWallet”

Another Twitter user said they’re throwing away all of their own Ralph Lauren items in protest of the brand.

“Shame on you RalphLauren throwing all your garments I own into the trash. #BoycottRalphLauren”

Harper’s Bazaar also reported on the statement made by a Ralph Lauren spokesperson regarding the boycott.

“We immediately started to get complaints about Melania Trump wearing [the label]. And people are using the #boycottralphlauren hashtag.”

However, the brand also dressed Hillary Clinton for the inauguration, yet people aren’t protesting the Democrat wearing the brand.

“Lauren also dressed Hillary Clinton for the inauguration, who wore a white pant suit. The move is thought to show an apolitical stance.”

Glamour also reported on the blow-back over Melania’s outfit, saying not all the responses are negative. Camille Grammer, former wife of actor Kelsey Grammer, also took to Twitter to share her opinion.

“Politics aside.. Melania’s outfit is superb! Stunning! #dress #RalphLauren”

Another Twitter user agreed with Camille as they stated Melania looked stunning in the custom-made dress.

“Melania Trump looks STUNNING in #RalphLauren inauguration outfit. Can’t wait to see the next four years of her fashion in The White House.”

While some people are trying to force their political ideologies on the designer, Glamour states Lauren has never made his political affiliations known and has dressed numerous First Ladies.

“Lauren has a history of dressing first ladies, regardless of their political affiliation, having dressed Hillary Clinton, Nancy Reagan, and Betty Ford. As WWD reports, Lauren the man has never endorsed a candidate or disclosed his political affiliation.”

The site also quoted a spokesperson from the brand saying the inauguration was an important day for everyone to look their best, and Lauren took an apolitical stance by dressing all Melania, Hillary, and Michelle Obama for the weekend, yet nobody is bringing up the latter two.

“The Presidential Inauguration is a time for the United States to look our best to the world. It was important to us to uphold and celebrate the tradition of creating iconic American style for this moment.”

On the flip side, several designers stated early on that they would refuse to dress Melania if they should be asked. However, it’s noted that the First Lady did not seek them out as the designers’ statements were hypothetical.

“Designers such as Sophie Theallet, Tom Ford, and Marc Jacobs have all stated publicly that they would decline dressing Melania Trump should they be asked.”

In contrast to those designers who would refuse if asked to dress Trump, others have stated they would love to work with the “beautiful” First Lady. Carolina Herrera, Thom Browne, and Tommy Hilfiger all stated it would be an “honor” to dress her, with Hilfiger saying any designer would be proud to work with her.

“I think Melania is a very beautiful woman, and I think any designer should be proud to dress her.”

[Featured Image by Pool/Getty Images]