Melania Trump steals limelight in fluoro 'green screen' Valentino dress

The first lady's colour choice has already launched a thousand green-screen memes

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Melania Trump stood out from the crowd on Thursday while her husband, President Donald Trump, accepted the Republican Party nomination for a second term.

Eyes were drawn to the 50-year-old first lady because of the bold colour of her dress, and fashion spotters have already figured out that it was a Valentino sleeveless plissé cape-back gown that is currently on sale on the Saks Fifth Avenue site. It was Dh21,000 but is now Dh10,890.

The polyester dress is from the Italian brand's spring 2020 ready-to-wear collection, and is bright neon green. Many noted that the dress, with its flat appearance and bold lime hue also mimics a green screen, which means it will now inevitably launch a thousand memes:

It's common knowledge in the broadcasting world that wearing green on TV is not a good idea, because you're often likely to be sitting in front of a green screen, in which case your jacket will disappear into the background through a technique called chroma keying.

This is why, even on St Patrick's Day, you will never see a meteorologist deliver the weather news while wearing a Granny-Smith-coloured jacket, because they are standing in front of a green screen.

Really, any flat colour can be used just like a green screen, but green is chosen because it's distinct to all natural human skin and hair tones and so is an easy colour to separate out.

On Wednesday night on the third night of the Republican National Convention, Melania chose a bright pink Jason Wu dress with a black bow detail. Wu is a Taiwanese-Canadian designer based in New York.

epa08628226 US President Donald J. Trump (R) and First Lady Melania Trump (L) attend the third night of the Republican National Convention, at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 26 August 2020.  EPA/KEVIN DIETSCH / POOL
Donald J. Trump (R) and First Lady Melania Trump (L) attend the third night of the Republican National Convention. EPA

Whatever your politics, there's no denying that Melania is often a very fashionable woman. But one truly questionable style decision was the Alexander McQueen suit she wore for her own speech at the Rose Garden on Tuesday night.

The overtly military aesthetic of the khaki green skirt suit caused plenty of chatter online, with many joking that the outfit had an air of a draconian leader.

It was costumey and derivative in a way not dissimilar to the time she chose to wear a pith helmet, an incredibly loaded item of clothing, while in Nairobi in 2018. The helmet is considered by many a "symbol of colonial oppression".

U.S. first lady Melania Trump waves as she is joined by U.S. President Donald Trump after delivering her live address to the largely virtual 2020 Republican National Convention from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., August 25, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Melania Trump and President Donald Trump. Reuters