Meet Melania Trump’s trusted stylist and designer, Hervé Pierre: from his Vera Wang, Oscar de la Renta and Dior stints to dressing the US’ first ladies since the 1990s

Jan 20 , 2025

Hervé Pierre is Melania Trump’s trusted stylist and designer. Photo: @herve_pierre_creative_director/Instagram

Since the 1990s, Pierre has designed outfits and curated looks for Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama … and has been accused of cashing in on the Trumps

Over the past four years while Donald Trump was out of office, his wife Melania kept a notably low profile, with sightings and appearances becoming increasingly rare. But that’s all about to change, of course. Making her FLOTUS comeback, Melania will once again be relying on her trusted stylist, designer and adviser Hervé Pierre to ensure she looks the part.

Melania Trump is making a FLOTUS comeback. Photo: @herve_pierre_creative_director/Instagram

However, Pierre isn’t too fond of the word “stylist”. “My role is to dress the first lady and advise her – I’m not a stylist; I am an adviser, and she is adamant about that,” Hervé told Vogue. “Who, as a free woman, is going to be told what to wear? It’s a conversation, a collaboration. Without intellectualising, my advice is respectful and it makes sense.”

So, who is the 58-year-old New York-based designer, and just how involved is he with the Trumps?

This is not his first FLOTUS foray

Hervé Pierre has designed outfits for a number of the US’ first ladies. Photo: @herve_pierre_creative_director/Instagram

French-born Pierre certainly knows a thing about FLOTUS fashion, and has been hanging around the White House way longer than the Trumps. Since the 1990s, he has designed outfits and curated looks for a variety of American first ladies, including Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama, per People.

Before that, he was a fashion world stalwart, working for the likes of Carolina Herrera, Vera Wang and Oscar de la Renta, and helming senior positions at French fashion houses Balmain and Christian Dior, according to Women’s Wear Daily.

He’s been accused of cashing in on the Trumps

Hervé Pierre (left), seen here with Paco Rabanne, made headlines for the fees the Trumps have paid him. Photo: @herve_pierre_creative_director/Instagram

Pierre made headlines earlier this year when it was revealed he was paid US$371,000 by Trump’s Save America leadership PAC since April 2022, according to The Daily Mail. During the second half of 2023, as Trump was drowning in legal fees, Pierre was paid eight US$18,000 instalments, one labelled “Strategy Consulting” for US$6,000, totalling an eyebrow-raising US$132,000.