What’s ripe yellow doing in a state banquet?

Melania Trump did it again. In the UK to fulfill her spousal duty, she gave state-dinner tradition the royal wave (away). After the massive hat that she wore earlier in the day to dwarf Queen Camellia’s and Princess Kate’s, the first lady gave another middle finger to courtly dress code. Many saw her on the news: She entered the main dining hall of Windsor Castle in a column of blazing yellow that looked like an over-riped mango. Mrs Trump clearly colored outside the royal lines. A chromatic insurgency. Designed by the house of Carolina Herrera, now under the creative direction of Wes Gordon, the dress, in silk crepe, was curiously long-sleeved when her shoulders and decolletage were totally bare. Cinched at her waist was a jarring lilac belt that looked like it was nicked from the shelves at Toys ‘R’ Us packed with Barbie fashions for her as a beauty queen. The team at Caroline Herrera was probably not aware that she was attending a state dinner; they must have been under the impression that she was gracing a soiree to honour Bananas in Pyjamas.

And what, precisely could be logic behind the choice of such a juicy colour? Yellow, along with its kindred shades, is the most visible in the colour spectrum. On the streets of New York, cabs visibly honk with yellow. At crime scenes, the yellow of caution tape tells the kaypohs to back off. On Sesame Street, Big Bird in the colour of canaries happily tells everyone,“I’m happy to be me”, just like Mrs Trump! She could have picked the slightly more discreet yellow of National Geographic’s frame-logo, but she preferred those seen on the packaging of Maggi instant noodles. The use of these sibling colours is primarily to demand attention. Sure, a touch of yellow can be cheerful, but a full column of it is jarring, and overwhelmingly risks going from sunshine to sun-blind. Mrs Trump was fortunate she did not dine with a Tang emperor. For wearing yellow without permission constituted a direct challenge to the Son of Heaven’s authority. Death was the deserving punishment.

She entered the main dining hall of Windsor Castle in a column of blazing yellow that looked like an over-riped mango. Mrs Trump clearly colored outside the royal lines

So what was in it for Melania Trump to outshine the Queen, but—amd this is crucial—outclassed by Princess Kate? For a presidential family that views every public appearance as brand enhancement, it is her entire existence. Despite her Slovenian background, Mrs Trump has adopted her family’s very American approach to branding themselves: conspicuously, even when she has chosen to lay low. When she is out in public, it is not hard to see that the first lady is increasingly a mobile exclamation point. Melania’s fashion, much like the broader Trump operation, does not play for the approval of the Establishment, especially when she embraced her inner mango back in Windsor. The Princess of Wales, in contrast, dresses for The Firm. In the same dining room, she wore a gown with an outer-dress hand-embroidered in gold Chantilly by English designer Phillipa Lepley. It was regally resplendent versus Mrs Trump’s haute hypocrisy.

Despite the overwhelmingly negative public response, with many people expressing strong dislike for the color, the design, and the overall look of the gown, Mrs Trump’s chosen couture for the state dinner was both diplomatic misstep and a cynical triumph. By opting for a gown that was visually and stylistically inappropriate for the occasion, she ensured her place as the Belle of the Banquet. Her sunshine may have been eclipsed by Princess Kate’s grace-in-gold, but that was never the point. Respect for tradition, reverence for history, and the hush dignity of duty are all qualities that belong to a different world—one the Trumps do not understand nor have the interest in joining. The yellow gown was was a business model in silk crepe, not a fashion statement to impress. Melania Trump didn’t come to Windsor to make a friend of the royal family; she came to make a spectacle. And with her inner mango—or banana—on full display, she won.