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Who really wears the pants at the White House?
Well, First Lady Melania Trump wore some designer ones for Thursday night’s state dinner in honor of China‘s president Xi Jinping and his wife Madame Peng Liyuan.
With artificial intelligence being a key issue that President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart planned to hash over earlier in their bilateral meetings, there were some tech titans at the black tie affair including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez, who chose an off-the-shoulder black Alexander McQueen dress from the 2000s with Christian Louboutin heels. OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Apple’s Tim Cook and NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang and his wife Lori were also in attendance.
Referring to the state dinner as “the hottest ticket in town” at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, POTUS reportedly said that “sort of everybody” was expected. He added, “I would say you have the entire tech world, the entire banking world and a lot more.”
The First Lady opted for a white cotton Saint Laurent blouse with a humungous bow, black brocade Dolce & Gabbana skinny pants and a belt designed by her stylist Herve Pierre for what is the fourth state dinner to have been hosted by the Trumps. Menswear-inspired styles are not a switch for the First Lady, who wore a Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo suit for her official White House portrait last year.
Madame Peng Liyuan looked striking in a solid deep red gown with a black clutch with a gold clasp. While calling out their designers of choice for global photo-ops has been routine procedure for First Ladies – that is not a standard protocol for Madame Peng Liyuan, however. Fourteen years into her role as China’s unofficial First Lady, she is known to wear solely Chinese designers, including ensembles by Ma Ke. President Xi’s 63-year-old wife does not name the labels she wears, nor would any Chinese brand openly use her name for marketing purposes, according to the South China Morning Post.
Madame Peng Liyuan and Melania Trump arrive fora visit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum Of Asian Art on September 24, 2026 in Washington, DC.
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Upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews Wednesday night, Madame Peng Liyuan exemplified her understated elegance, wearing a pale pink scarf with a dove gray dress that had a Chinese collar and qipao-type side slits on the long skirt. For Thursday morning’s official White House welcome, she turned up in a navy dress with white trim at the neckline.
Her husband wore a Mandarin style jacket for the state dinner, and President Trump donned a tuxedo.
President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan before a state dinner in the White House.
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President Trump’s daughter Ivanka went with a gown from the Lebanese designer Georges Hobeika, who has suited up such celebrities as Beyonce, Zendaya, Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez. For Thursday morning’s official welcome, the First Daughter selected a pale blue long dress and bolero jacket with elaborate white embroidery from the Chinese designer Guo Pei. Millions are familiar with Guo Pei for the unmissable couture canary yellow gown that she designed for Rihanna‘s trip to the Met Gala in 2015.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Usha Vance, Ivanka Trump, and Arabella Rose Kushner watch a military review for President of China Xi Jinping in the Rose Garden at the White House on September 24, 2026.
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The meat-free menu for Thursday’s dinner included yellow squash velouté, wild mushroom fricassée, sesame-encrusted sea bass with braised bok choy and vanilla crémeux with sour cherry confit, walnut frangipan and honey from the White House beehive.
FLOTUS has been leaning into business attire in recent days, having worn a Givenchy skirt suit with a Gap T-shirt to greet the Chinese leader and his wife at Joint Base Andrews and an Alexander McQueen skirt suit for Thursday’s arrival ceremony at the White House. Conversely, Citigroup’s leader Fraser ditched the corporate attire for a red sequined gown Thursday night.
