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Since Antoine Verglas moved from France to the US in the 1990s, his iconic portraits of Pamela Anderson, Angelina Jolie, Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista and, of course, Melania Trump have graced the covers of every major glossy magazine, reports The Daily Mail.

Today, his studio in midtown Manhattan dazzles with huge canvases of his favorite celebrity subjects. But of all those celebrity shoots, one seems to remain the most memorable—for its ability to grab attention even 25 years later.

For a bold James Bond-style cover of British GQ in 2000, Verglas, now 60, captured then 26-year-old model Melania Knauss in a series of daring, semi-nude shots, using Donald Trump’s private jet as a backdrop.

When GQ editors asked Verglas to name the perfect beauty for their 007-inspired cover, he didn’t hesitate long. The woman who instantly came to mind for the assignment ticked all the boxes of a “Bond girl”: killer looks, a smoldering sense of mystery, and cheekbones.

It didn’t hurt that the Slovenian model was dating New York’s most flamboyant tycoon, who later offered up his custom Boeing 727 private jet for the shoot.

Melania Knauss—now two-time US First Lady Melania Trump—“was perfect for the role, just perfect… and so beautiful,” says Verglas.

“I thought, yeah. Melania was perfect because of her Slavic looks, a real James Bond type of action girl. That’s how it all started. Then Donald Trump offered us his jet [and] suddenly we had this amazing story and backdrop. She would be the main character, a Bond girl, in a perfect Bond setting.”

When the photos emerged, they caused a sensation. The headline on the January 2000 cover of the magazine read: “Nude Supermodel Special!” Another read: “Sex at 30,000 Feet, Melania Knauss Earns Her Air Miles.”

Verglas, 60, has revealed how much Melania actually exposed herself for his photos. “There’s no full nudity [...] It’s more of a suggestion, it’s sensual,” he says. “Melania was a great model at the time, and she was willing to play the role. She did a fantastic job, it was great to work with her. She can be very seductive. Even now, when I look at her, she’s stunning… the aura that she has. She’s a gorgeous woman, she’s always been that way, and I think she’s becoming more confident as she gets older. She’s not the same young girl I knew before.”

So, what was 26-year-old Melania Knauss like off camera? “She didn’t smile on set, she didn’t have to smile, I wanted seriousness,” says Verglas. “But she can smile, she has a good sense of humor, actually.”

But despite her boldness, Verglas believes Melania would never model for anything more revealing.

Unlike Carla Bruni—the wife of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, also a model turned first lady—whom Verglas photographed, who happily bared all her clothes for shoots. One photo of Bruni, taken by another photographer, sold at auction for $57,000 in 2018.

“Melania wouldn’t do what Carla did,” says Verglas. “She was always quite reserved, confident, but reserved. In fact, I would say a bit of a prude. Yes, that’s the right word, prude. I mean that in a good way."

"When you're lucky enough to have her type of beauty and physical attributes, the least you can do is immortalize it with great photos. I've always had a good time with Melania. We must have done at least a dozen shoots together over the years, including one later for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in Mexico."

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