Ivanka Trump was probably aiming for Old Hollywood glamor at her father’s inauguration ball. But instead, her outfit was insulting—although, mind you, the whole event and everything it stood for was insulting in of itself.
Ivanka chose a dress made famous by Audrey Hepburn in the film Sabrina. The day of the inauguration also so happened to be the anniversary of Hepburn’s death, so perhaps that was her line of thinking. But perhaps she should have considered the politics and the decency of the woman she was honoring. A Nazi salute was given by Elon Musk at the inauguration, and Hepburn grew up suffering under the Nazi regime. Thus, Ivanka’s choice of death feels almost like a mockery of Hepburn, who experienced lifelong consequences from growing up under Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Her uncle was executed by the Nazis despite having committed no crime, which devastated her. At another point, she and her family were forced to make their food from flour derived from tulip bulbs, because there was no food, and the effects of that starvation would follow Hepburn into adulthood.
Despite the fact that her mother had in fact supported Hitler at one point, the young Hepburn threw herself into helping out the Dutch Resistance. It’s believed that she delivered messages for them and took part in dance performances to raise money for their efforts. This forms an important part of her legacy and is one of the reasons she’s so admired today.
Her eldest son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, has now delivered a statement to the Daily Mail about Ivanka’s co-opting of the dress, but stopped short of outright condemnation. “It is no wonder that growing up in a family which knew our mother as a household name [Ivanka] chose to draw inspiration from her, to seek the ultimate elegance and class reference, for an occasion such as this one—the inauguration and the 32nd anniversary of our mother’s passing and, most of all, Martin Luther King’s day,” he said. He did add, perhaps rather pointedly, “[Hepburn’s] elegance, which has its roots in her inner beauty and spirit, is often a reference point, an anchor, for many celebrities, actresses and models in these times in which we appear to have somewhat lost our way.”
Ferrer also mentioned his mother’s later work as a UNICEF ambassador, saying, she “fought on behalf of the disenfranchised children worldwide regardless of the ideological environment in which they were born in.”
Ivanka’s wearing of the Sabrina dress sparked utter outrage online. People took to social media to angrily explain the world of difference between Ivanka Trump and Audrey Hepburn.
We can only imagine what Hepburn would have made of this if she was alive today. As it is, we only have the words of her children to go on. Her younger son Luca Dotti said of his mother earlier this year, “She believed very much that there is a struggle between good and evil and you have to take sides.” Ivanka has chosen hers.
Published: Jan 23, 2025 07:23 am