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* Over the past four years, he has worked with Trump to select designer styles for key appearances.
Memorable as his four-year run as Melania Trumps stylist has been, Hervé Pierre is more inclined to discuss the mechanics of his role than the controversy that came with it.
Styling was new to Pierre, and it was not a career path that he had sought out. As was the case during his lengthy tenure as the former creative director at Carolina Herrera, the New York-based designer prefers to work behind the scenes, avoiding the media and focusing on the craftsmanship of his own designs.
In February 2018, he launched Atelier Caito for Hervé Pierre with Nicolas Caito. While Pierre has spent most of his career working in Manhattan, he started out in the Balmain sample room under François Bouchet, who became the premier atelier at Lanvin under Erik Mortensen.
That high-fashion heritage anchors Pierres work as a designer and stylist.
While many American designers were vocal about not wanting to dress the now-outgoing First Lady, Pierre often shopped at retail - an anomaly for recent previous administrations. While Trump wore Michael Kors, Calvin Klein and other American designers, she also sported European labels such as Dior, Dolce & Gabbana and Alexander McQueen for key photo-ops.
Veering away from commenting on the record about anything controversial, Pierre spoke at length, and often enthusiastically, in an interview Monday about being Trumps stylist. While former FLOTUS aide Stephanie Winston Wolkoff and the First Ladys chief of staff Stephanie Grisham exited earlier than expected, Pierre has loyally remained part of the inner circle. Armchair critics are quick to reduce his alliance to the$39.99 Zara jacket imprinted with I really dont care, do u? that Trump wore to visit detained immigrant children at the Texas border in 2018. But that infamous selection was something that he was not involved with. In fact, at first glance he thought the image had been Photoshopped. Not being very active on social media is one way he is staying away from getting swept up in the fray of critics.
Pierre said, It has been an honor to dress the First Lady. That was totally unexpected. I met her for the first time on Jan....