Beside her, Peng wore a patriotic red gown which featured a rounded neckline, long flared sleeves, and a loose A-line silhouette, a look she finished with a black velvet clutch and double strand of pearls. While stark in shade, it felt softer when cast in the traditionally inflected silhouettes that have defined her public wardrobe.
The state dinner guest list offered still more variations on public engagement style. The dinner drew a substantial contingent from American technology and business, including Jeff Bezos, who attended with his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos. Sánchez Bezos, never one to suddenly adopt establishment conservatism for the sake of a presidential invitation, remained firmly within her own style codes: a plunging black evening gown accompanied by a major diamond-and-emerald necklace.
Photo: Getty Images
Trump and Peng first met in April 2017, when the Trumps hosted Xi and Peng at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. A few months later, they met again when the Trumps traveled to Beijing. Xi and Peng received them for tea, a tour, and dinner at the Forbidden City, and both couples attended a state dinner. Nine years later, the dance of world leaders and their spouses is a familiar one: the hard business of presidential diplomacy running alongside a softer program of art, education, food and dress. In the intervening years, it’s become much clearer how differently these two women employ the latter.
Peng’s wardrobe consistently locates her within China, drawing on domestic design and recognizable elements of Chinese dress. Trump, by contrast, approaches the role through the highly international vocabulary that’s just as high-octane as it was when Trump Tower was her permanent address. McQueen, Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabbana, and a stiletto heel. While Peng harnesses fashion as a way to foreground national identity, Trump crowbars her intensely polished personal style into the modern image of a First Lady. Disappearing into the ceremonial role, though, is not for either woman.
