Here's the drama that went on behind the scenes with Melania's viral inauguration hat

Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald on Jan 21, 2025

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It doesn’t have its own X account, at least not yet. But the hat Melania Trump wore to her husband’s inauguration Monday is getting a lot of attention.

The chic wide-brimmed wool creation was by none other than Miami-based designer Eric Javits.

How viral was this thing? Global searches about what she had on her head were briefly higher than for President Donald Trump’s speech, according to an analysis from JeffBet.

The veteran milliner told Women’s Wear Daily he created the chapeau specifically to match Melania’s navy blue Adam Lippes coat.

Last month, when it came time to send the finished product to Trump in New York, where she is based part time, there was a slight — OK serious — problem.

Force majeure.

The area was experiencing a snow storm and the shipment was delayed a day or two. When the hat finally arrived to the first lady, it was “all crushed.”

“It looked like it had been sitting in snow drifts for about a week,” Javits explained, adding he had to completely re-do a fresh one on the fly. “It couldn’t really be repaired, because of the construction of it. It was a little bit of a cliffhanger.”

At least by the time the new hat was finished, the “Melania” author was back at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, only about an hour north.

The 54-year-old’s stylist, Hervé Pierre, swooped in to save the day. The designer, who was also responsible for her dramatic black and white Inaugural Night gown, hired a driver and personally hand delivered the hat to her.

“No other hands touched, nor did any other eyes see the hat, prior to Hervé and the first lady receiving it,” Javits said of Pierre, who has curated looks for Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama.

Javits, who is best known for his stylish visors and fedoras made with Squishee, a man-made, lightweight material with sun-proof protection, told the Miami Herald that he was “very grateful” the former model chose him for the big day.

“Overnight, it became this iconic thing because of her — her presence, beauty and inner grace,” the milliner said Tuesday morning, adding he was slammed with orders. “She really brought the hat to life.”