Today, as Kamala Harris was inaugurated as the country’s first female, Black, and South Asian Vice President, she used her global platform to highlight emerging Black designers.
Fashion may seem like a frivolous concern at this critical juncture in American history, but clothes have important symbolic power, a fact not lost those who attended today’s inauguration. Many attendees used their fashion choices to project the values of the new administration, which stands in stark contrast to the Trump administration.
Rogers launched his brand in 2016 and won the prestigious Vogue Fashion Fund Award three years later. He is known for his use of simple silhouettes and striking colors. Hudson debuted his eponymous label in 2014, which is characterized by figure-hugging silhouettes and beautifully draped fabrics.
Last night, as Harris attended a memorial for those who have died from COVID-19, she wore a camel coat with an asymmetrical drape on the back, designed by New York-based Kerby Jean-Raymond, who was quick to turn his office into a PPE donation center at the beginning of the pandemic and has spoken out about how frequently Black designers are marginalized by the fashion industry.
Who wore what
The other members of the First and Second families wore American designers. Both President Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff wore classic Ralph Lauren suits. First Lady Jill Biden wore an ocean blue wool, tweed and velvet coat, along with a matching dress from Makarian, a four-year-old label from American designer Alexandra O’Neill. Notably many of the women at the inauguration—including Kamala Harris, Jill Biden, and Michelle Obama—were dressed from head to toe in the same color, possibly to symbolize community and unity.
Looking ahead
In some ways, Harris takes a page from Michelle Obama’s sartorial playbook. The former First Lady recognized that her outfits would be closely studied, so she chose to direct observers’ attention to emerging Black designers like Maki Oh and Duro Olowu, along with other designers of color, including Thakoon and Prabal Gurung. At today’s inauguration, Obama also chose to wear an outfit by Hudson: A striking eggplant-colored pantsuit with a gold belt, and a matching coat.
Related: The outrageous, deeply sexist history of the pantsuit
But it’s important to note that Harris is different from Obama, in that she is in a governing role. And the fashion choices of female political leaders are often scrutinized, however unfairly. From the time the first woman was elected to Congress in 1917 to 1993–when newly elected senator Carol Moseley Braun unknowingly showed up to work in an Armani pantsuit–there was an unspoken rule that women were not to wear suits: They were a symbol of male power. Over the past two decades, and especially in the past four years, there’s been a notable shift: Women in office and those running for office, have not only embraced the suit, but appropriated it as a symbol of female power by wearing bold, colorful colors. Hillary Clinton paved the way, with her rainbow of pantsuits; Harris often opts for pink and white pantsuits, and regularly pairs blazers with her signature Converse sneakers.
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