\n<\/p>\n
Newly reinstated first lady Melania Trump<\/strong> is back in the White House, and if her latest official portrait, released Monday afternoon by the White House<\/a>, is anything to go by, this time, she means business.<\/p>\n In the black and white image from Belgian photographer R\u00e9gine Mahaux<\/strong>, who also took Melania\u2019s portrait the first time around, the former model wears a tuxedo and cummerbund with a crisp white shirt, all designed by Dolce & Gabbana, inside the White House\u2019s Yellow Oval Room in its residential wing. The Washington Monument is visible through the window over Melania\u2019s right shoulder. She stands front-facing with hips canted and fingers tented on the tabletop in front of her, looking into the camera\u2019s lens.<\/p>\n This content can also be viewed on the site it originates<\/a> from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n After the photo was released, Mahaux, who first photographed Melania and Donald Trump<\/strong> on assignment for Getty Images in 2008 and many times since then, told Vanity Fair<\/em> that her goal when capturing Melania is to \u201calways do something that really reflects her.\u201d \u201cI feel that her kindness and involvement and her engagement are reflected in this picture,\u201d Mahaux explained.<\/p>\n The Yellow Oval is a sunny room with several south-facing windows, but Mahaux said that backlighting was not a problem as the scene was captured on a \u201cnot sunny day\u201d (the White House\u2019s official release<\/a> said it was taken on January 21, the day after the presidential inauguration). \u201cIt was gray, and Melania looks good in gray, and everything looks good in gray,\u201d Mahaux said. \u201cThe picture didn’t need to be retouched because we wanted to keep the authenticity.\u201d<\/p>\n Mahaux posted a black-and-white shot of Melania signing her eponymous memoir<\/a> to her Instagram page in November 2024<\/a>, featuring Mrs. Trump wearing an ensemble similar to the one in her portrait, seated behind a highly reflective table. Mahaux, who also photographed the inauguration, told VF<\/em> that she did not recall when or how, specifically, Melania asked her to do the honor of taking the official portrait. \u201cShe’s a very secret woman, and I like that,\u201d she said. \u201cShe’s not gonna send me an email and ask [me to take her portrait]. It was just on the way, and then we decided to do it. I don’t recall a special date when we talked about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Mahaux also captured Melania\u2019s first official White House portrait<\/a>, back in 2017, and the differences between the two are striking. Though the first lady wears a dark Dolce & Gabbana suit in that photo as well, her first portrait was more traditional: The photograph was shot in color, in front of an iconic decorative window at the White House, the same location that Nancy Reagan<\/a> chose for her official headshot. In the 2017 picture, Melania\u2019s arms are crossed, her sizable diamond ring is on display, and her facial expression is more open. The colors are warm and the focus softer.<\/p>\nInstagram content<\/h4>\n