H ow does a woman overhaul her entire wardrobe and rebrand as a politician's wife after decades as a model? Just ask Melania Trump.

The First Lady of the US spent most of the '90s and 2000s wearing slinky gowns and walking red carpets and runways, only to undergo a total style evolution when her husband decided to run for office and became President of the US.

Now she's a style icon in a whole new way after years of transforming her wardrobe.

Keep reading to see how she pulled off one of the biggest style evolutions of the century.

Born Melanija Knavs in Slovenia (then Yugoslavia), Melania was spotted by a modelling scout at age 16 and began working in the fashion industry soon after.

She travelled first through Europe , then moved to the US to pursue bigger and better modelling opportunities.

Naturally, she had an eye for fashion and dressed in the hottest styles of the '90s when she met now-husband Donald Trump.

As the girlfriend of a prominent US businessman, Melania was constantly arriving at events in glamorous gowns and designer labels.

She often favoured dresses that showed off her figure, like this white ruched frock with an asymmetrical neckline.

Melania wasn't afraid to take fashion risks either, like pairing this tight body con dress with a white fur (faux, we hope) coat that hung to the floor at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

She completed the look with a pair of black peep-toe pumps, which were a style staple of the early 2000s.

The young model also knew when to go for a more classic, elevated look, like this silky pink gown she stepped into for a during a New Year's Eve party at the Mar-a-Lago estate.

Posing with Donald, who had not yet popped the question, Melania's diamond bangle and statement earrings sparkled.

Though she was often photographed in ultra-glamorous settings, Melania also knew how to make casual outfits look effortlessly stylish.

She took inspiration from traditional Japanese kimonos for this understated outing at HBO'S Sex and The City season premiere screening after-party.

It was the kind of outfit even Carrie Bradshaw would approve of.

Seen here at the 2004 NBC Winter Press Tour All-Star Party, Melania wasn't afraid to embrace sexier styles like this white satin-look dress with a corset bodice.

She paired it with strappy gold heels and drop earrings, keeping the rest of her jewellery to a minimum.

In 2004, Donald proposed and Melania's best accessory became her massive diamond engagement ring, seen here on her finger at a press event for The Apprentice.

Around the time of their engagement and marriage, Melania's style shifted a little bit, erring towards more classic and slightly more conservative fashion than what she had worn in her modelling days.

Instead of low-cut gowns and slinky little dresses, Melania started dressing in tailored frocks with slightly less fitted silhouettes.

She was still a huge fashion lover, but it was clear her wardrobe was undergoing a bit of a transformation.

Where she would have once worn a spaghetti-strap mini dress, Melania now opted for structured frocks with hemlines that hit closer to the knee.

Part of her style evolution was the shift towards the 'business casual' fashion of the early 2010s, but it could have also been influenced by her married life with Donald, who has always leaned more conservative politically.

Just a few years after she attended the Met Gala in her strapless gold tinsel dress , Melania arrived in this gown which sent a very different message.

Instead of baring her skin, Melania covered up in this sequinned long-sleeved frock, which came complete with a high neck and pointed shoulders.

Her style was clearly changing, but some things would never change – like her love of designer labels and fitted silhouettes.

Melania's second style overhaul came in 2016, when her husband ran for the US presidency and won.

As the wife of a presidential candidate, Melania ditched the short dresses and slinky silhouettes in favour of more conservative and elevated styles like this white jumpsuit.

There was still a time and place for sexier styles, like this little black dress she wore for a New Year's Eve party at Mar-a-Lago, but her everyday wardrobe underwent a huge shift.

That was especially true after Donald's first inauguration in 2017.

For her husband's official swearing in as President, Melania wore a custom powder-blue Ralph Lauren dress made from cashmere and paired with matching gloves and pumps.

This marked her first style statement as First Lady and set the tone for her wardrobe throughout her husband's first term in office.

At the Liberty Ball that night, she wowed in a long white custom gown created by French-American designer Hervé Pierre.

The dress now lives in the National Museum of American history and is considered a priceless piece of US history,

Pretty good for Melania's first night as the First Lady.

As first lady, Melania's wardrobe choices followed a few new rules.

Her hemlines grew longer, usually finishing well past her knees, and her necklines became even more conservative. She also favoured designs that cinched in at the waist without being too form-fitting, though she had loved figure-hugging styles in the past.

As for colours, Melania's wardrobe was full of red outfits like this one in a nod to the Republican party colours.

Her first year at the White House was packed with style statements, like this ultra-feminine frock she wore for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll in 2017.

Intended to show off her softer, more maternal side, the dress was a clever move as Melania tried to rebrand as a conservative wife and mother after years of being known mostly for her modelling career.

Unfortunately, there were times when her style choices did more harm to her public profile than good.

There was public outcry when she appeared in this Zara jacket emblazoned with the words 'I really don't care, do U?' on a visit to see the conditions and treatment of migrant children on the US border.

She later told ABC news the jacket was a message to the media, not migrants.

"It's obvious I didn't wear the jacket for the children, I wore the jacket to go on the plane and off the plane," she said.

"It was for the people and for the left-wing media who are criticising me. I want to show them I don't care. You could criticise whatever you want to say. But it will not stop me to do what I feel is right."

She still took a fashion risk from time to time, like with this striking coat covered in floral embellishments, which she wore to Chierici Palace during a state visit to Italy, but her outfits remained conservative even when she ventured outside the box.

For example, when she donned this wild jacket, she made sure to keep her dress and pumps simple and elegant.