Seth Meyers awkwardly jokes about Ivanka, Melania fashion at CFDA Awards

Maeve McDermott | USATODAY

Despite his reputation for cracking down on the Trump administration, Seth Meyers mostly stuck to a politics-free monologue at Monday's Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Awards, where he served as host.

But in-between the jokes about romphims and Balenciaga's Ikea bag at the New York City gala, known as "fashion's Oscars" for its high-wattage attendees, the Late Night host included some style-related Trump content in his opening speech, to mixed results from the audience.

"Abercrombie & Fitch has announced it's putting itself up for sale. Meanwhile, thanks to Donald Trump, the United States has become a Banana Republic," he said, the room staying quiet.

More successful was his joke about the Trumps' recent overseas trip. "It's harder than ever to separate fashion from politics. First Lady Melania Trump made headlines recently after she decided not to wear a head cover while visiting Saudi Arabia," he said. "Which was especially shocking, since her husband wears a head covering literally everywhere."

Bella Hadid, Kidman, Klum dazzle at CFDA Awards Stars from fashion, film and TV hit the carpet for the annual Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards in New York - described by model Heidi Klum as "the Oscars for fashion." (June 6)

But the crowd didn't react as favorably to Meyers' follow-up joke about Ivanka Trump's Nordstrom line. "Big year for fashion designer Ivanka Trump," he said. "I've heard her clothes are flying off the shelves in Nordstrom."

Host @sethmeyers on Melania skipping the head scarf in Saudi Arabia: "Shocking, as her husband wears a head cover literally everywhere." pic.twitter.com/hfJUtn6fjE — Maeve McDermott (@maeve_mcdermott) June 6, 2017

While Meyers was the evening's only presenter to refer to President Trump by name, Janelle Monae also touched on politics in her speech later in the evening. The singer-turned-actress was given the Board of Directors' Tribute along with Gloria Steinem and Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards.

Designer Raf Simons was the other big winner of the night, receiving both the womenswear and menswear designer of the year awards for his work at Calvin Klein.