Kamala Harris: A Fashion Icon in the Making
As the first female, first Black, and first Indian American Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris has already made history more than once. She may also be the first executive officer to have garnered websites breathlessly documenting her style—but only briefly.
Kamala’s Closet launched in November 2020, with a post documenting the then-V.P.-elect honoring the women’s suffragist movement in a resplendent white Carolina Herrera pantsuit. The site posted just once more, however, sharing Harris’ landmark—and divisively informal—2021 Vogue cover: a black Donald Deal cropped pantsuit, a scoop-neck top, treasured pearls representing her Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority, and go-to Converse Chuck Taylors. Then radio silence.
What Kamala Wore hung on a bit longer—chronicling a consistent wardrobe of somber-hued pantsuits, with an occasional refined camel or conciliatory pastel in the mix, before going dormant in April 2022.
In a sartorial tale as old as time, muted pantsuits, modest shirts, and sensible heels can serve as a woman’s armor in the workplace—especially if that workplace is the White House. A consistent commitment to businesslike suiting and boardroom fits avoids ceding ammunition to “weird” adversaries who fixate on a woman’s appearance in clumsy attempts to undermine her credibility, intelligence, and leadership ability. But then, there’s also greater society’s inherent biases to consider.
“As a woman, ‘you’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t.’ You can’t ever walk the line that satisfies everybody,” Veep costume designer Kathleen Felix-Hager told The Daily Beast. “[If you’re] too fashion forward, you’re too ‘vain’ to focus and don’t have enough substance. If you dress more conservatively and toned down, or ‘plain,’ you’re criticized.”
Harris has donned a dress or skirt when occasion calls, but largely within her monochrome comfort zone. There are occasional pops of color: For the January 2021 inauguration, Harris sent a unifying message in a purple coat and dress by queer Black designer Christopher John Rogers, for example, and a “New Look”-inspired silhouette in camel, with her pearls, while attending an anniversary event marking to pay tribute to the Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama in 2022.
“No one is actually looking at [Harris] for her fashion choices, in any way, and I think what she’s doing is quite dull,” said Alicia Lombardini, longtime stylist of 2018 New York gubernatorial candidate (and The Gilded Age actress) Cynthia Nixon. “Very, very understated, very boxy—nothing to write home about… But, I’m sure that there’s a reason for it.”
There certainly is. As Harris campaigns to become the leader of the free world, she’s relying on those tried-and-true, no-nonsense pantsuits as a non-talking point. Lombardini speculates that Harris, like Hillary Clinton before her, is avoiding any trope-y opportunities to look “weak,” especially with dresses, which tend to be associated with “the role of the First Lady.”
In Veep’s fictional Oval Office, Felix-Hager dressed Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ V.P.-turned-President Selina Meyer in body-con designer dresses in bold colors—a trope which, interestingly, seems to have become the uniform for GOP wives, women in Trump’s orbit, and Fox News hosts. Felix-Hager explains that she “leaned into” the feminine standard—and avoided trousers—to emphasize a woman in an unprecedented power role.
“Obviously, [dresses] would probably be more scrutinized in the real world,” she says. “A pantsuit is a safer choice for a lot of women. It signals a seriousness and an appropriateness to the situation a lot of times.” (Notably, in her Emmy-nominated season three of Hacks, Felix-Hager outfitted Jean Smart’s trailblazing comic Deborah Vance—vying for another historic first in the male-dominated space of late-night network TV—in pantsuits, albeit sequin ones.)
While the safer choice may not feel very inspiring from a fashion standpoint, Harris’ power pantsuits have actually galvanized new generations of lawmakers. “We have a lot of candidates who come to us saying, ‘I would love to dress like Kamala Harris,’” said Sarah LaFleur, founder of M.M.LaFleur.
“There’s almost not enough credit given to how remarkable [Harris] looks on a day-to-day basis. Rarely are her suits wrinkled. Her pant length is just right,” LaFleur continued. “She has really gotten it down to a science.”
Earlier this year, For the 2024 races, M.M.LaFleur reintroduced its non-partisan “Ready to Run” program. The chic, versatile fashion label first lent clothing to 272 women campaigning for positions from City Council to Congress in 2020—and helped bring 95 to victory. For this election cycle, Ready to Run introduces a fleet of Style Strategists to harmonize aesthetics, functionality, and messaging for candidates.
M.M.LaFleur Style Strategist Kate Leonard hears the same “keywords” mentioned when candidates request Harris-inspired pieces. “It’s consistently, ‘she looks very classic, she looks approachable and powerful, but also she looks so natural,’” says Leonard. “You can tell she’s comfortable in them.” Today, some candidates even tailor their trouser hems to accommodate heels and sneakers.
As with her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s quick embrace of the Carhartt Dad aesthetic, ease-of-wear helps Harris communicate her policy messaging. She can be herself—exude the holy grail of authenticity, which resonates with voters. Furthermore, the energized Democratic ticket is “bringing the joy” back for their base and politics in general. And, Harris may be reflecting that exuberance in her—what’s that?—fashion.
Harris has revealed playfulness with her style before, while staying true to her political messaging. In 2019, then-Senator Harris celebrated San Francisco Pride in a fully rainbow crystal-encrusted denim jacket; for D.C.’s celebrations in 2021, she wore a bright coral Prabal Gurung blazer over a “Love is Love” t-shirt (with Chucks, of course). Last year, at the Kennedy Center Honors, she stunned in a brilliant lapis blue sequined gown—with power-shoulders, long sleeves, and a modest neckline—by Sergio Hudson.
Lombardini credits Harris with using her global platform to uplift independent designers from underrepresented communities while celebrating her heritage. “It is a point of interest for people, especially younger voters,” said the stylist.
“I don’t think her style’s really changed, but in the last couple weeks, I’ve noticed slight adjustment,” added Felix-Hager, pointing to a series of cheerful, but still benign choices. For a Las Vegas rally in early August, Harris revived a lilac pantsuit, which she wore last year on The Jennifer Hudson Show and accessorized with a gold Irene Neuwirth chain necklace. For another lively rally in North Carolina, she donned a Democratic pastel blue suit with a layered necklace and the same camel pumps.
During the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week, Harris addressed an elated crowd in a bespoke suit, by Chloé creative director Chemena Kamali. The grain de poudre wool, layered over a white crêpe de chine lavaliere blouse, felt like Harris’ most lively, yet elevated look thus far in the campaign. Its color? Coconut brown.
“It was brighter, a little happier, more celebratory,” Felix-Hager continued. “Just the shift in the tones of colors was an interesting, subtle twist to signify where she’s feeling about her campaign.”
The enthusiasm is infectious. What Kamala Wore resurrected its outfit chronicles in August. Rumor has it that Harris has enlisted the help of Hollywood stylist Leslie Fremar, whose roster includes Charlize Theron and Jennifer Connelly.
“Who knows, though, once she’s elected, maybe she can take chances and she will put herself more out there, which would be amazing,” said Lombardini, presumably crossing her fingers. “I’d love to see some of the sartorial choices that Michelle Obama made [reflected] on our first female president.”
