fashion faux pas

Melania is still missing but her pricey wardrobe scandal won’t go away

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Melania Trump

MAGA Americans may not know it but they are working hard to make sure Melania Trump looks fabulous while doing the absolute least for her husband’s reelection campaign.

Although the former first lady has been extremely busy avoiding making public appearances for her husband’s third presidential campaign, Trump’s super PAC hasn’t stopped funneling cash to his third wife’s personal stylist.

According to the latest FEC filings, Trump’s Save America leadership PAC, which has been fundraising on the disgraced ex-president’s lies, has paid Melania’s stylist, French fashion designer Herve Pierre Braillard, more than $100,000 for “strategy consulting” since July 2023.

The Daily Mail reports Braillard received eight monthly payments of $18K and one for $6000, during the last six months of 2023. In total, Braillard has racked up more than $370K for picking out Melania’s ensembles since April 2022. Be best!

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This ongoing grift is particularly interesting considering Melania is rarely seen outside of the tacky confines of Mar-a-Lago.

So what exactly does Braillard do for the Trump campaign? That’s what everyone would like to know considering Melania has been MIA on the campaign trail.

It’s unclear what “strategy consulting” actually means in this context, but making sure Melania’s shoes and handbag are on point doesn’t seem to fall under the purview of an election fund, no matter how deranged the candidate is.

In December, the former model did come out of hiding to speak about her immigration journey at a Naturalization Ceremony at the National Archives decked out in a black pantsuit.

While the 53-year-old’s last public outing was to attend the Palm Beach funeral of her mother, Amalija Knavs, on January 18.

For the solemn event, Melania wore a classic black jacket and skirt and famously refused to let her husband ride in the same vehicle.

If we’re doing the math right, two outings over six months means Braillard made about $50K per look. Now that’s how you make a stylist great again!

This also isn’t the first time Braillard’s exorbitant donor-funded salary has raised eyebrows.

After a $60,000 payment to Braillard made headlines, Melania had her minions try to come up with an excuse for paying him through the super PAC.

In 2022, Melania’s office told Women’s Wear Daily that Braillard’s work “extends to many different fields, not just fashion design” and that his “expertise is utilized for special projects and events.”

Braillard, who used to be creative director for designer Carolina Herrera, has also previously gone on the record to try and explain how his skills went beyond clothes. 

“As with every other first lady, there is an after-the-White House life, which involves many other aspects than fashion,” he told WWD. “I am lucky to have worked in prestigious houses, to have designed [costumes] for ballets and more recently to work in home decor. There are many upcoming projects in this after-the-White House [stage].”

But the jig may be up.

Braillard’s “strategy consulting” fees could be coming to an end in the future as Trump’s super PAC has been hemorrhaging from paying out all of the one-term, twice-impeached, four times indicted ex-president’s ongoing legal fees with his criminal cases in New York, Washington, D.C., Florida and Georgia.

The recent FEC filing showed that Trump’s Save America leadership PAC and the Make America Great Again PAC have spent a whopping $56 million combined on legal fees, with $30 million of that just in the last half of 2023.

In addition, Trump also owes $83.3 million in damages for defaming columnist E. Jean Carroll.

If Braillard is familiar with ill-fitting suits he may want to go out of his comfort zone and start dressing Trump for his litany of court appearances. That could be his cash cow!

Related:

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