Ivanka Trump’s latest ensemble is causing a stir on social media for its uncanny resemblance to a dress worn by the fictional Serena Joy Waterford in the HBO series, The Handmaid’s Tale. The headline-making midi is the sold-out Farnia Scarf-Tie V-Neck Crepe Dress from Emilia Wickstead’s Fall-Winter 2019 collection.
The Senior White House advisor wore the dark teal pussy-bow dress to watch her father sign a new technology bill on Thursday, December 3. She shared a photo from the Oval Office wearing the long-sleeved number, which she teamed with beige boots. The fashion moment quickly went viral, especially when fashion watchdog group Diet Prada spotted the lookalike fashion moment and posted a photo comparing Trump’s dress and the costume worn in the show.
Diet Prada cleverly named the dress’s color “Gilead Green,” referencing the fictional Republic of Gilead from Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel-turned-television-show. Waterford, the wife of Commander Waterford in the series, always wears dark teal designs.
Some speculated that Ivanka—or her fashion stylist—might be trying to make a statement by wearing the lookalike number, which she also wore this past September, styled with beige pumps. Ane Crabtree, one of The Handmaid’s Tale’s costume designers, noticed the similarity in the dresses as well. She took to Instagram to share photos of Ivanka’s number and Waterford’s.
Ivanka’s dress is undoubtedly similar, but what makes this story even more interesting is that her Wickstead dress was inspired by another piece of visual art entirely—not The Handmaid’s Tale, but the 1990 American crime filmThe Godfather III. Wisktead’s Farnia midi design took cues from the style of Sofia Coppola’s character, Mary Corleone, costumed by Milena Canonero.
“I was engrossed in the film [The Godfather III]! I don’t know how many times I watched it. A lot,” said Wickstead in line with the collection’s launch in February 2019. “I wanted to draw people into the nostalgia of that world.” She even described her collection as “‘a wardrobe for life,” which is essentially the opposite of what teal means in The Handmaid’s Tale.
Perhaps you, too, are officially sold on the color. In that case, keep scrolling to shop GRAZIA’s luxe edit of dark teal dresses. We’ve also included Ivanka’s style to stare at even though it’s sold out (sorry).
