Designer of viral hat worn by Melania Trump at inauguration shares inspiration

First lady Melania Trump’s hat caught the attention of many across the country and on social media on Inauguration Day.

The man behind the design, Eric Javits, has been creating headwear for decades. His hats are a familiar sight on the national stage. They have been been showcased by celebrities including Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Ariana Grande and other first ladies like Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.

“I thought she looked amazing, very polished, very pulled together,” Javits told “CBS Mornings.” “I think it reflected the formality of the occasion.”

He admits due to last-minute changes in the venue for President Trump’s inauguration due to freezing temperatures, he didn’t know if the first lady would wear the hat until he saw her on TV.

He credits the first lady for helping to make the now viral hat a focal point.

“I sort of feel like it wasn’t really a ‘wow’ hat. It was very understated, very elegant and appropriate, but when she put it on, and I had never seen her wearing it before because I never had direct contact with her in person or anything, so I really felt that her presence and her grace and beauty really brought the whole thing alive,” he said.

Javits said he actually had to make the hat twice.

“The first one was caught in that terrible snowstorm and the box was crushed so I realized I had to make another.”

Javits said he drew inspiration from a previous hat that the first lady purchased several summers ago from his website. 

“I sent another similar one as a reference and those two designs sort of became the spring board of creating a winter version with a more abbreviated brim.”

The designer also responded lightheartedly to the jokes made about the hat and some said it made it difficult for Mr. Trump to kiss Melania.

“Going back to Victorian times, a brim sort of defined a woman’s space, and of course, it’s not convenient to have brims colliding and sometimes you see two women in a brim trying to greet each other with an air kiss or something,” Javits said.