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Monday’s presidential inauguration kicked off a new era — not just in political circles but also in tech, entertainment and fashion.
Just take a look at who actually made it into Donald Trump’s whittled-down swearing-in ceremony. It was filled with tech titans like Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook. Even luxury billionaire Bernard Arnault and his family — whose LVMH includes top fashion houses like Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Dior — were there.
Still, this cultural thawing toward Trump will have its limits. Despite Melania Trump stealing the show in that incredible hat by Eric Javits, she’ll never be featured on the cover of Vogue. That ship has sailed.
But I would like to truly test this vibe shift and issue a challenge to Anna Wintour: Put Usha Vance on a cover.
The 39-year-old is everything Vogue claims to champion. She’s the first Indian-American second lady. She has effortless personal style. She is incredibly accomplished. A Yale law grad, Usha was a corporate litigator and clerked for Justice Roberts as well as Brett Kavanagh before he was on the high court.
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She is the embodiment of the modern American dream.
Most women would be lost in a sea of Trumps, what with Melania and Ivanka looking like leggy generals in a model army. But Usha quietly shined at Sunday’s VP dinner, in her figure-flattering Oscar de la Renta velvet gown. For a dinner at the National Building Museum, she paid homage to her roots in a stunning dress by Indian designer Gauruv Gupta.
Standing next to her husband JD Vance as he was sworn in Monday, Usha dazzled in more Oscar — this time, a pink cashmere overcoat with matching scarf — followed by an embellished Reem Acra gown for the night’s Commander in Chief ball.
(Perhaps her greatest feat is the fact that she does not cover her stray grays, yet still looks impossibly polished.)
Her best accessory, though, was the thousand-watt smile she directed at her husband, with whom she shares kids Ewan, Mirabel and Vivek.
The three kids —7, 4 and 3— stood on the dais with a stuffed animal, cheeky gestures and Band Aids. It was not only adorable, but relatable: a showcase of Usha’s maternal touch.
Vance has long credited his wife as foundational to own success. The kid from Appalachia called her his Yale “spirit guide.”
“The sad fact is that I couldn’t do it without Usha,” Vance wrote in “Hillbilly Elegy,” his bestselling book. “Even at my best, I’m a delayed explosion — I can be defused, but only with skill and precision.”
Not only would she make a gorgeous Vogue cover, but she’d make for fascinating copy.
But I’m betting it won’t happen. Vogue under the stewardship of Dem fundraiser Wintour isn’t about American fashion or excellence.
It’s still about naked partisanship. The magazine, dubbed the “fashion bible,” is a de-facto arm of the DNC.
Jill Biden had two covers from 2021 to 2024 and they continue to refer to her as “Dr.” (Usha, by the way, has a juris doctor, but I’m guessing she wouldn’t strong-arm Vogue into calling her Esquire.) A portrait of Hillary Clinton graced the front of the glossy in December 1998 with the headline “The Extraordinary Hillary Clinton.” Michelle Obama was featured on three covers, in 2009, 2021 and 2016.
As for Republicans? The magazine photographed first ladies Laura Bush, Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush but they mysteriously weren’t cover material.
In 2006, Melania was a cover girl in her Dior wedding gown. But those were different days, when Trump was a Democrat and helping NBC print money with his reality sensation, “The Apprentice.” When Melania became a Republican first lady, suddenly she wasn’t up to snuff. No more covers for her.
Sure, Vogue gave the requisite real estate on its website to this week’s inauguration: the who’s who, the what and the wear. They covered the basics about the designers. There was also a piece on Usha — an explainer, not a celebration, giving the basics of her existence to satisfy the Google searches.
Next to that was a piece entitled, “These women won — and we commend them.” Predictably, topping the list was Sarah McBride, a newly elected trans member of Congress, followed by a bunch of Dem pols.
But this leftie resistance, which captured all mainstream institutions in 2016 and cast from polite society anyone who wasn’t a faithful toot soldier, is dying. It’s dusty and boring. As out of style as skintight skinny jeans.
The Vances are the future.
And If Vogue was really faithful to its name, Wintour would shake things up and widen the tent.
But that would require taking a fashion risk.
