Kamala Harris’ Inauguration Look Ushers In A New Era For American Politics

Welcome, Madam Vice President. Even before she was signed in this week’s 46th Presidential Inaugural Ceremony – the first female, first Black, and first Asian American to assume the position –Kamala Harrismade a powerful statement about the type of administration of which she will be a pivotal part.

For the occasion, Harris chose to wear a striking purple coat by Christopher John Rogers. The 2020 CFDA American Emerging Designer of the Year is already hot property in the fashion industry and a celebrity favourite (Beyoncé, Lizzo and Zendaya are fans) thanks to his bold, glamorous designs that come in can’t-miss-me saturated tones. Her decision to wear a young talent over an established power-house name aligns her with the inclusive style strategy of Michelle Obama – like Obama, Harris knows that her choices matter. She knows that they say something.

And the smart choice to wear Rogers says a lot. This moment ushers in a new, inclusive era for the White House – a determined, deliberate departure from the havoc, tumult and bigotry that defined the Trump administration. Rogers – like Pyer Moss’s Kerby Jean-Raymond, whose camel coat Harris wore yesterday and Sergio Hudson, the designer behind her inauguration dress – is a young, Black, American designer. Her visible support for these young designers, particularly on such a high-profile, highly-anticipated day, is deliberate in a year in which white supremacists stormed the Capitol just a week before. This is a show of allegiance, support, unity and proof that you can make a point powerfully and with class.

There have been suggestions that Harris’s choice to wear purple – like Dr Jill Biden did at a memorial service yesterday in a Jonathan Cohen coat – is also a sign of togetherness (as was her gold and diamond American flag lapel pin, custom made by David Yurman). It is, of course, the colour you get when you mix red and blue together. Her signature pearls, in place as always, have also taken a life of their own as a symbol of hope and harmony, with women wearing them today in her honour.

Harris has emerged as something of a stealth style star in the past few months. Her well-documented love of Converse trainers (even worn on the cover of USVogue) epitomises her determination to get on with things and imbues her ready-for-duty trouser suits with a refreshing accessibility. Her white Carolina Herrera trouser suit – a symbol of women’s suffrage – for her first speech as Vice President Elect was an elegant kickback against the ‘pussy grab’ President still in place at that time.

The look of power dressing shifts with trends and times, but Harris signifies the beginning of a new era for it. Where she succeeds, where she inspires, is in that she does not just dress to empower herself – but to empower others.