Melania Trump Sports Michael Kors Coat for Madison Square Garden Rally

While critics, pundits and voters were parsing who said what at Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden Sunday — namely the more controversial speakers like comedian Tony Hinchcliffe — others were surprised by Melania Trump’s surprise appearance.

Having been largely absent from the campaign trail, the former first lady took to the stage to introduce her husband Sunday night. Instead of wearing the more predictable Republican red, as she did to host a GOP fundraiser in August, the retired model went with a zebra-printed coat from Michael Kors. The coat was one that her stylist Herve Pierre said he bought at the Michael Kors Madison Avenue store a few years ago. Speculating that the company will get calls from shoppers looking to buy the style, Pierre said, “It was a few seasons ago and there was only one.”

Kors was among the high-profile designers who participated in last month’s “Fashion for Our Future” event, which was culminated with a speech by First Lady Jill Biden in Bryant Park.

Although Melania Trump has not been a repeat performer during her husband’s campaign, she has “shopped in her closet” recently. For the aforementioned fundraiser at Trump Tower, she wore the Valentino dress that she first sported in April 2017 to meet President Xi Jinping of China and his wife Peng Liyuan at Mar-a-Lago. And at the Republican National Convention in July she donned a modern version of the Christian Dior “Bar” suit that she had worn for an official visit to meet French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte.   

As for the zebra-printed coat, “We thought the graphic black and white pattern would look good with an ocean of blue, white and red,” Pierre said, adding that Trump’s color palette is often black and white. Those were the colors of choice for her recently released memoir “Melania.” That Skyhorse Publishing release has an all-black cover with her first name in capitalized white letters.

Originally priced at $40, the “Melania” memoir is now being sold for $28 on Amazon, where it is the top bestseller with “Hot Mess (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 19)” second. The next highest ranked political page-turner is Bob Woodward’s “War,” which is ranked 15th on the Amazon bestseller list.

After being invited by the former FLOTUS to attend the rally in midtown Manhattan, Pierre said, “I am always curious. To witness an event like this one at the end of the campaign was quite unique.”

Struck by how many people were wearing red “MAGA” baseball caps, the stylist said. “I never saw one in the streets of New York before. I would guess that whoever would wear one would not be able to walk a block without getting comments.”

Referring to the thousands at the Madison Square Garden event, Pierre said, “Also, I have never been a fan for a singer etc. You know the kind of people who are really following the public life of their idol like a stalker? But there you could see a lot of people who were really fans of the [former] president.”

Melania Trump wasn’t the only former first lady stumping for a candidate. Michelle Obama was front and center Saturday to support Vice President Kamala Harris in Kalamazoo, Mich. With election day nearing, Obama delivered her first campaign speech wearing a custom version of Theory‘s staple blazer and high-waisted slim crop pants in a tortoiseshell printed crepe. The New York City-based brand also customized its fitted shirt in silk georgette to match in tortoiseshell.

While Obama’s message about reproductive rights was the takeaway for many, her fashion choice may have resonated with others. Those looking to duplicate her style can find the pants marked down to $104 from $325 on Theory’s site. As of Monday morning, the coordinating jacket appeared to be sold out. Representatives from Theory did not respond to a media inquiry about how Obama’s choice had impacted sales and site traffic.