While U.S. First Lady Melania Trump opted out of President Donald Trump’s three-day trip to Beijing, his daughter-in-law Lara was in tow.
Joining her husband Eric as part of the American delegation, the 43-year-old opted for tea-length dresses for outings to the Temple of Heaven and the Great Hall of the People. As a familiar face in political circles and the host of “My View with Lara Trump” on Fox News, she understands how fashion can play with the masses.
Before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday, Lara Trump posted a selfie of herself with her husband, Secretary of State Marc Rubio, White House chief of staff Dan Scavino and two key White House aides, Natalie Harp and Walt Nauta. Last month she shared behind-the-scenes photos of the White House state dinner for King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The president’s bilateral meetings with China President Xi Jinping delved into the strategic alliance and differences between the two countries, Taiwan and the wars in Iran and Ukraine. During Thursday’s state banquet, Xi said the China-U.S. relationship is the most important one in the world. He said, “We must make it work, and never mess it up.”
The president’s daughter-in-law and Harp were among the few women that were part of the American delegation in Beijing. Of the 17 C-suite executives who were tapped to make the trip, Citi’s Jane Fraser, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg and Meta’s Dina Powell were the only female ones.
“In the vacuum left by the first lady’s absence in Beijing, Lara Trump and Natalie Harp have become the primary avatars of American dressing for a Chinese audience,” according to Sheng Lu, the director of graduate studies for the University of Delaware’s department of fashion and apparel studies.
President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping walk with Lara Trump during their visit to the Temple of Heaven on May 14 in Beijing.
Getty Images
From Lu’s point of view, “Even amid broader U.S.-China trade tensions, highly curated ‘Trump-world’ visuals can still attract attention because they project a recognizable form of American elite branding and media-savvy image-making.”
Cornell University’s Peidong Sun, a distinguished associate professor of arts and sciences in China and Asia-Pacific studies, described Lara Trump’s traditional cheongsam for Thursday’s state banquet as “an elegant choice for such a formal occasion.” She said, “The chrysanthemum ‘菊花’ embroidery carries a beautiful Chinese cultural meaning, echoing ’吉花,’ a symbol of good fortune and auspicious wishes ‘吉祥如意.’”
Sun said the dress’ length and tailoring complemented her height and created a “refined and graceful silhouette.” Suggesting that Lara Trump’s blue polka dot dress and a white polka dot one were classic choices, she said Trump’s Beijing styles show “a thoughtful appreciation for Chinese tradition with modern elegance.”
While as Donald Trump has traveled internationally with his children on occasion, the practice of using First Children as companions dates back more than 150 years. In 1872, Ulysses S. Grant’s daughter Nellie was 16 years old when she was received at Buckingham Palace by Queen Victoria. And Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter Alice accompanied his administration’s Secretary of Defense William Howard Taft, as part of a months-long American delegation to Japan, Hawaii, China, the Philippines and Korea in 1905. (Alice Roosevelt was known to embrace the social life with high fashion, having reportedly attended 407 dinners, 350 balls and more than 300 balls, during a 15-month stay in Paris.)
But back to the Beijing trip. Just as consumers and social media users have been parsing the fashions sported by the Princess of Wales, during her trip to Italy this week, many are zeroing in on Lara Trump’s Beijing wardrobe. Some couch critics have compared her choices to Temu. A media request to the ultra-cheap fast fashion site seeking confirmation was not acknowledged Thursday. And a spokesperson for Temu’s leading rival Shein declined to comment Thursday about whether Trump or Harp had worn any Shein styles, during their stay in Beijing.
Chinese social-media users often interpret political figures’ clothing through the lens of cultural respect and soft power, Lu noted. In that context, Trump’s qipao-inspired styling – as in the white high-collared form fitting dress that she deplaned in on Tuesday and the tan floral similarly designed one that she wore to Thursday’s state banquet in Beijing – is “likely to read not simply as a fashion choice but as a deliberate gesture acknowledging Chinese culture, Lu said.
“Chinese Fashion from Mao to Now” author Juanjuan Wu suggested that the spotlight appears to remain on political power dynamics rather than fashion nuances, chalking that up to the “remarkable alignment in fashion sensibilities” between urban centers in the U.S. and China. Trump’s and Harp’s style fits neatly into the ideal image of the world’s female political leaders, including those in China, Wu said.
But one surprise fashion standout was provided by SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s son X Æ A-Xii, who tagged along to Beijing carrying a dragon-shaped bag. The six-year-old’s Chinese-style vest with frog buttons has also been highlighted on social media. Wu added, “These familiar visual cues are often interpreted in China as culturally friendly gestures.”
Like her husband and several of her in-laws, Lara Trump also has her own business ventures. In 2024, she launched a signature line of activewear that is sold via her namesake site and via the Trump Store’s e-commerce site. The current offerings include $98 leggings and oversized sweatshirts that have been marked down from $120 to $78. There’s also a MAGA Red collection that features a red baseball cap imprinted with “No Days Off.” Earlier this month Trump, who competes in triathlons, posted a family photo on Instgram of herself wearing a blue one at Trump Doral.
The fashion diplomacy between China and U.S. may have a another main event, since President Xi and his wife Peng Liuan have been invited to the White House in September.
