Faded yellow hair, orange face, black overcoat, navy suit… When people talk about Donald Trump, who has just been elected President of the United States for the second time, they often talk about color. And particularly the color of his tie. If the Republican billionaire, elected president on WednesdayDuring his trial last May, he swapped his ever-present red tie for yellow or blue models, but as soon as he returned to the forefront of the American political scene, he reverted to his favorite piece of fabric.

A detail? In an American society ruled by images, not so much. In a political world where every man aspiring to be elected must wear a blue suit, even less so: the tie is one of the few authorized means of expression for remaining within the codes of respectability, while still getting messages across. In fact, it is itself a marker of power, frequently crystallizing debates about politicians’ attire – in France, its wearing in the hemicycle is the sartorial chestnut of the National Assembly. Knotted a little too long, in a shiny silk that’s not exactly subtle, Trump’s tie is far from the codes of good taste and elegance that would recommend a more discreet choice.

The color of love and pride, power and war

But no matter: that’s not the point. ” Creating color codes to generate instant recognition is an old political tradition, explains Sarah Banon, professor of fashion theory at the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM). In adopting red, Donald Trump is seeking to, to appropriate the symbolism of colors.” For red is not a color like any other. ” Already in antiquity, it was admired and entrusted with the attributes of power, i.e. those of religion and war, noted color historian Michel Pastoureau, author of Rouge – histoire d’une couleur (Ed. Seuil), in an interview at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The god Mars, the Roman centurions, certain priests… they’re all dressed in red. It’s a color that’s going to come into its own because it refers to two elements that are omnipresent throughout its history: fire and blood.” Deeply linked to religion from the Middle Ages onwards, red is also the color of love… Lust and pride. Quite a program.

” What’s interesting is that in the United States, we see an inversion in semantics, continues Sarah Banon. Red is associated with Republicans, blue with Democrats. In Europe, and France in particular (such as Jean-Luc Mélenchon, editor’s note), Conversely, red is traditionally worn by left-wing personalities, and blue by right-wing ones. On the other hand, for Trump, one wonders if this red isn’t a way of reinforcing his own mythology, the color inevitably evoking the blood of the attack he suffered in July.”