A New Look for Ivana Trump
It’s a classic case: The good wife gets dumped by the man she loves. At least, that’s how the New York fashion crowd and attendant socialites have sized up the situation of Ivana Trump and her soon-to-be ex-husband, billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump.
This week Ivana is making the first public appearances since her highly publicized breakup with “The Donald.” And where does she go? Shopping.
No wonder the designers love her.
She’s been seen at fashion shows for Oscar de la Renta, Arnold Scaasi, Carolyne Roehm and Carolina Herrera at the Plaza Hotel, where she is president.
“It’s time for me to start to live my life again. I can’t hide forever,” Ivana said. (And, yes, everybody calls her Ivana now, whether they know her or not.)
“A month ago I couldn’t go out, the photographers wouldn’t leave me alone,” she added.
Photographers are still hot on her trail, firing their strobes at every opportunity. But several have been bold enough to tell her that they’re rooting for her, and that she looks gorgeous.
Ivana has a new hairdo, a French twist with a fringe of bangs that Maury Hopson created for her to wear for a cover shot for Vogue’s May issue.
Braced by these bon mots, she ventured out of the hotel on Tuesday, first to the Calvin Klein show. There, she was taken in hand by company vice president Paul Wilmot, who led her through the crowd to a chair in the celebrity section, between Bianca Jagger and Sigourney Weaver.
“She buys lots of our cashmere sweaters, which are great for travel,” Wilmot said. “She’s a great friend of this house. Everybody loves Ivana.”
Wednesday, at Adrienne Vittadini’s show, most of the models wore teased-up, towering French twists with fringed bangs, and “the Ivana look” was born.
That afternoon, Carmelo Pomodoro telephoned her staff at the Plaza to say he had dedicated a dress in his collection to Ivana. He also offered to send a driver to pick her up and take her to his Wednesday night show.
She was there, and giggled shyly as “her” dress came down the runway. It was a sequined evening slip and she was not certain whether she would buy it.
“I will go to all the shows this week, then decide,” she said. “I work, so I need suits. And a few cocktail and evening gowns because I am also part of the social world.”
Ivana said she is thinking of changing her wardrobe to go with her new hairdo. “I have been a little bit limited because my husband prefers certain styles over others,” she said. “But now I’m free to do what I want and I can play with my wardrobe.”
She added, “As you get older your tastes get simpler. I like a sleek evening dress with a pair of big earrings. That’s all.”
Friends say Ivana is putting up a brave front. “She’s very wounded,” offers socialite Nan Kempner.
But it hardly shows. Even Womens Wear Daily, the fashion trade publication not often given to flattery, ran a photo of the “new” Ivana this week and a story that suggested: Maybe Donald should take another look.
“Ivana always received lots of fan mail,” said her executive assistant, Lisa Calandra. “But now, men are writing her marriage proposals, telling her to stick to her rights during her divorce settlement. And women are calling, being very supportive.”
One fan, a working executive who stays at the Plaza on business trips, said she will boycott the hotel unless Ivana gets to keep it as part of her divorce settlement.
Ivana said she’s amazed by how people have rallied around her.
“People are giving me incredible support,” she said. And she’ll repay them in part when it’s time to place orders for her fall, 1990, wardrobe.
“The designers have been good to me. I’ll be good to them,” she promised.
