The Smithsonian Institution added first lady Melania Trump’s 2025 inaugural gown on Feb. 20 to its exhibition honoring the nation’s first ladies.

During a ceremony in Washington, Trump praised the design of her off-white and black gown.

“Behind every true picture piece stands a superior team of pattern makers, seamstresses, and artisans who transform a creative idea into reality,” she said. “My team of experts who constructed this gown have obsessed to master their discipline.”

The gown joined the First Ladies Collection, which includes gowns worn by Mary Todd Lincoln, Jacqueline Kennedy, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama. A tradition that began in 1912, when Helen Taft donated her 1909 Inaugural gown to the institution, the exhibit has evolved into a mainstay of the Smithsonian.

During her remarks, Trump also called the Smithsonian an “important cultural jewel” for America.

Trump credited French-American designer Hervey Pierre for how his “sophisticated knowledge of couture” influenced the making of the dress. Pierre also designed the gown Trump wore to her husband’s inauguration in 2017.

“This is not a dress,” the first lady said. “This is more than 50 years of education, experience, and wisdom realized with each thread. ... Decades of my early memories, life experiences, and influences, and all of these stories attached deep within its crisp, strong seams, forever.”

Trump also noted that details of the dress’s construction were part of her documentary film, “Melania,” which premiered on Jan. 30 of this year. The film documented the Trumps’ return to Washington for a second term in the White House. 

Lonnie Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian, thanked Trump for her donation, saying the collection is one of the most important and popular exhibitions at the Smithsonian.

“Each first lady has left their mark on not just on the White House, but on the nation,” Bunch said. “In essence, each gown we have is a window on America.”

The exhibition includes inaugural ball gowns, accessories, and some contextual materials to reflect fashion and culture.

The secretary of the museum said that Trump’s contribution is special in that this is her second gown to enter the collection.

First Lady Melania Trump and fashion designer Herve Pierre view her second inaugural dress during an event at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington on Feb. 20, 2026. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Bunch said Trump is “the first first lady to be exhibited and represented by two inaugural gowns in the more than 100 years of this museum.

“I think of Martha Washington’s hand-painted silk gown, and how, rather than just think about the gown, think about the tensions, the struggles, the responsibility she had being part of a fledgling democracy, and I think of how Dolly Madison’s silk brocade evening gown reminds us of heroic actions during the British attack on the White House in 1814.

“In many ways, the First Ladies collection is as much a timeline of American history as it is a look on fashion.”

Speaking about the design of her dress, Trump pointed out the contrast between the black and white, saying she believes that the “human condition is captured within every stitch. ... This black and white masterpiece showcases America’s pure spirit of originality. Superior engineering and boundless creativity.”

The Smithsonian’s description of the installation noted that Trump is the only modern first lady to serve two non-consecutive terms in office.

Originally from Slovenia, she is also the only naturalized citizen to serve as first lady of the United States.

Bunch noted the importance of the display to which Trump added her gown, saying that preserving the First Ladies collection was a “sacred responsibility” because it is a “crucial part that tells us about the power of women. It tells about the power of the American ideal, it tells us that the nation is a nation of possibility.”