Designer Defends Melania Trump’s ‘Disgusting’ Official Photo: ‘Go to Hell’
On Monday, the first official portrait of Melania Trump as the first lady of the United States was revealed.
The official White House portrait features Trump standing with her arms crossed, wearing a black Dolce & Gabbana jacket — possibly the label’s $2,895 Turlington satin-trim two-button jacket — with a $680 black silk scarf from luxury French designer Hermès. Her large 15-carat wedding ring is also prominently displayed in the photo, which many took notice of.
The portrait was shot by Belgian-born photographer Regine Mahaux, who has photographed the Trump family before. Co-founder of the Dolce & Gabbana luxury fashion house Stefano Gabbana shared the photo on his Instagram channel and offered his praise to the first lady in the caption.
#DGWoman BEAUTIFUL ????? #melaniatrump Thank you ??????????? #madeinitaly????????
A post shared by stefanogabbana (@stefanogabbana) on Apr 4, 2017 at 2:40am PDT
“#DGWoman BEAUTIFUL ????? #melaniatrump Thank you ??????????? #madeinitaly,” he wrote alongside the portrait. The post, which received almost 8,000 likes, was met with mixed feedback from his followers.
“Thank you for supporting our FLOTUS. She has been treated so unfairly. You are a true gem,” one user commented on the post. Another joined in on the support, writing, “Bravo! So proud of you and your historic contribution to fashion! And for recognizing this stunning women!”
While some other users had different reactions. “Oh boy I’m sorry to have to bid you and your brand farewell. I hope she’s worth it,” a disgruntled follower wrote. Another added, “@stefanogabbana clearly being controversial again — didn’t realize that’s what D&G represent now — I won’t unfollow I just won’t like.” In response to one account labeling the photo “disgusting,” Gabbana shot back, “@it_magazine_ vai a cagare,” which loosely translates to “go to hell.”
Gabbana is no stranger to facing feedback from Trump supporters and critics. When the first lady wore the famous label on New Year’s Eve, the designer posted an image of her in the black wool gown, showing his support.
Melania Trump #DGwoman ????? thank you ???????? #madeinitaly????????
A post shared by stefanogabbana (@stefanogabbana) on Jan 1, 2017 at 4:44pm PST
“Melania Trump #DGwoman ????? thank you ???????? #madeinitaly” he captioned the image of Melania alongside her husband, President Trump.
Many users took issue with Gabbana adding the hashtag #DGwoman, which they viewed as the co-founder dubbing Mrs. Trump a representation of the label. Gabbana replied to many of the commenters — like he did on his post of Melania’s official White House portrait — slamming the offensive remarks toward the first lady.
It seems as if Gabbana won’t be swayed by the criticism he receives for supporting the first lady.
Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.