One of Michelle Obama's go-to fashion designers has announced she will refuse to dress incoming First Lady Melania Trump, calling on other designers to do the same.
Sophie Theallet, whose dresses have been a fixture of Michelle Obama's wardrobe for the past eight years, said she would not continue to provide her services for the next First Family, in a statement released on Twitter on Thursday.
"As one who celebrates and strives for diversity, individual freedom and respect for all lifestyles, I will not participate in dressing or associating in any way with the next First Lady," Theallet wrote.
"The rhetoric of racism, sexism, and xenophobia unleashed by her husband's presidential campaign are incompatible with the shared values we live by. I encourage my fellow designers to do the same."
French-born Theallet said that "as an immigrant" she had been "blessed" with the opportunity to dress Michelle Obama, whose "values, actions and grace" had always deeply resonated with her.
She concluded by telling her fellow designers, "Integrity is our only true currency."
Open letter | Sophie Theallet | November 17th, 2016 pic.twitter.com/g1hIAyBmdF
— sophie theallet (@sophietheallet) November 17, 2016
On the campaign trail, Melania Trump broke with tradition and wore a mix of US (Ralph Lauren) and foreign (Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Balmain) designers.
However, the New York Times reports her entire campaign wardrobe was self-funded, and these designers did not issue their usual press releases to celebrate
Many of the US fashion set were intimately involved in the Clinton campaign, which received Vogue's first ever US presidential endorsement. Marc Jacobs designed a line of t-shirts for her online store, which were sported by Vogue editor Anna Wintour and model Kendall Jenner.