Wildfang's "I Really Care" Jacket Puts Melania Trump's Offensive Jacket Choice In Its Place
Melania Trump made one hell of a fashion choice recently when she popped up wearing a $39 Zara jacket with the words, "I really don't care, do u?" painted on the back of the piece on Thursday, June 21. But the problem wasn't the jacket itself — it was the fact that she decided to wear this look on her way to visit an children's immigrant center in McAllen, Texas, that same day. Now, Wildfang's "I Really Care" jacket, which already sold out, is the ultimate clap back to Melania's offensive jacket choice.
Many found Melania's outerwear to be highly offensive, given the setting. And the bold statement from her clothing choice left the media and Twitter users alike wondering why the First Lady of the United States would choose to wear this coat to see migrant families that have been torn apart by the Trump administration's zero-tolerance immigration policy.
But the media and Twitter aren't the only groups critiquing her choice. In fact, clothing retailer Wildfang has chosen to fight back in a bold way. The brand's "I Really Care" jacket, as well as more "I Really Care" merch, was released shortly after the hoopla around Melania began trending. The brand says that 100 percent of sales from this line will be donated to RAICES, a nonprofit organization based in Texas that's dedicated to providing immigrant families and refugees low-cost legal services.
The best part about this effort? Most of the merchandise has already sold out.
"We hope to see kids reunited with their parents, that is the goal here," Emma McIlroy, CEO of Wildfang said in a statement. "We want to spread awareness, we want people to take action, we want you to give all your money to RAICES. They do amazing work!"
Thankfully, the brand is working diligently to restock. They've added an "I Really Care" bomber, available in olive and black, along with a t-shirt featuring the same sentiment.
"Our customers have gone bananas over this," McIlroy added. "The support is overwhelming and we couldn't be more proud to align with them in support of these families."
As for Melania, she decided to skip wearing the jacket once she actually arrived in Texas, but did put it back on once she landed in D.C. as her final destination for the day. Melania herself has yet to make a statement about the coat, but did release a tweet sharing that her trip was "very meaningful."
However, her husband, President Donald Trump, did tweet that her jacket choice was in response to the "Fake News Media."
Prior to the fashion fiasco, the first lady's spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham, gave a statement to The Hill, which implied she was against the separation of families occurring at the border and supported unity for immigrant families.
"Mrs. Trump hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform," Grisham said. "She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart."
Following the backlash about the jacket, Grisham also told CNN in a statement, "It's a jacket. There was no hidden message. After today's important visit to Texas, I hope this isn't what the media is going to choose to focus on."
So far, the 48-year-old is the only member of the Trump clan to personally visit, and witness, the crisis happening at the border. There are no known plans at this time for Ivanka Trump to head down, either. Ironically, however, Ivanka has been very vocal in the past on the importance of children, female empowerment, and family.
After the intense public outrage over Trump's immigration policy, Trump signed an executive order on June 20 that will keep migrant families together. But the order does very little for families that have already been separated, making it difficult for them to reunify.
Luckily, however, at least one family has been able to reunite. ABC News recently tweeted a touching and emotional video of a mother and son from Guatemala embracing each other after being separated for a month.
"I started crying when I saw him, because he is the only child I have," the mother Beata Mariana de Jesus Mejia-Mejia told reporters at the BWI Airport in Maryland. "I thank God because I have him here with me. He is now sad, but nobody is going to separate us again."
As for the Trump family and presidential inner circle, let's hope if any more decide to visit Southern immigrant centers, they'll think twice about their clothing choices.
