The world cares very deeply ... just what is it Melania doesn’t care about?

What do you think Melania Trump really meant when she wore That Jacket to visit a migrant child detention centre in Texas? That £29 Zara parka would have been perceived as making a statement even if it hadn’t been painted with a literal statement, what with its high street cheapness and mass availability that could be synonymous with either military sensibilities or the anti-war counter culture in the wake of Vietnam.

Only it was painted with a literal statement, that statement being: ‘I Really Don’t Care, Do U?’

I would love to tell you what Melania Trump really meant, knowing full well it would be even more visible to the world and its media than usual, given that it would be the last thing anyone saw of her before she disappeared into the private jet flying her to and from the Mexican border. I should love to break it down for you, searing insight by searing insight.

I’d make reference to the fact that just days ago, Melania was heralded for supposedly speaking out against her husband’s hardline policy on separating the children of illegal immigrants from their parents, saying (via communications director Stephanie Grisham) that she: “hates to see children separated from their families … We need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart.”

I’d weave in reference to Melania’s many past “meaningful” fashion statements. The times she wore virginal purity all-white in the wake of the Stormy Daniels ruckus. I’d remind you she wore a blouse with a pussy-bow detail in her first public appearance after the release of a damning audio tape in which her husband made reference to routinely grabbing women by an essential part of their anatomy. I’d speculate over the floral Valentino midi dress she wore, when taking tea last week with King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain – a frock originally designed as part of a collection which, according to Pierpaolo Piccioli, its creative director, celebrated cultural melting pots and “finding the harmony in difference”.

I’d conclude that Melania’s wardrobe is her equivalent of her husband’s Twitter feed: an uninhibited, if opaque, way of communicating directly with her public, of circumnavigating the official processes of the White House, and scuppering the corrupt influences of the mainstream media.

But I can’t. I can’t because I look at that jacket, worn in that way and in that precise situation – and I don’t know where to start. With that single choice, Melania Trump has confused me and my capacity to speculate about the coded messages buried within her wardrobe. About what doesn’t she care? Her husband? Her role?

Her infamy, her reputation, everything everyone has ever said about her? Is she being ironic? If so, does she care? Is she in fact, challenging us, demanding we work out whether we care or not, and what we’re going to do about it? I. Don’t. Know. I do know that I disagree with the harshest elements of Twitter’s consensus: that Melania is telling us she doesn’t give a damn if immigrant children are brutally separated from their parents. Why would she make the trip if that’s the case? Why make the statement about “governing with our hearts” – why wear that jacket to board the plane, but not when she’s in the camp itself (which she didn’t), if she is truly that cruel?

Nor do I believe her staff ’s line: “It’s a jacket. There was no hidden message.” Quite apart from the fact that we live in an age,

‘Is she in fact, challenging us, demanding we work out whether we care or not, and what we’re going to do about it? I. Don’t. Know.’

courtesy of Instagram and social media, when no one wears anything, ever, without first wondering what other people will make of it. And Melania isn’t anyone, she’s the First Lady, entirely aware she is scrutinised endlessly.

Even if we ignore all of that, it was 81F (27C) when Melania boarded the plane. Jackets were not required, climatically speaking. Nor do I subscribe to Donald Trump’s interpretation of Melania’s jacket intentions.

“I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U? written on the back of Melania’s jacket refers to the Fake News Media. Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!” tweeted @realdonaldtrump on Thursday, in such a way as to make me think he’s had as much direct communication with the First Lady on this specific matter as I have.

I know what I don’t think Melania Trump is trying to tell us, but I can’t even begin to speculate on what she is trying to tell us. Not for nothing has the New York Times christened this The Coat of Chaos. The only thing I can conclude is that her jacket is an expression of her power.

Whatever the wording on that jacket means, it says to the rest of us: look how much bother I, Melania Trump, can cause, with one inexpensive coat.

Until recently, much of the narrative surrounding her relied on the idea that she was her husband’s victim. Women’s March protesters waved “Free Melania” placards. The slogan even made it onto anti-trump T-shirts and baseball caps. She didn’t say much so we “read” her fashion statements as notes scrawled in desperation, like “Help”. Her husband kept her mute, we reasoned, so she found other ways to talk.

Yet now, as she leaves us speculating wildly over a jacket, refusing to clear it all up with an explanation, it seems likely we’ll never again make the mistake of seeing Melania Trump as a victim of anything, or anyone.