Vice President Kamala Harris wore a Chloé suit for her first appearance at this week’s Democratic National Convention.
The Vice President wasn’t officially scheduled to speak, and many were surprised when she appeared onstage. She delivered brief remarks and then joined her husband, Doug Emhoff, and running mate, Governor Tim Walz and Gwen Walz, to watch the night’s speeches.
President Joe Biden was the headliner Monday night. Following his speech, everyone gathered onstage.
A news release explains the look was “designed by Creative Director Chemena Kamali for Chloé.” The suit by the French label was made of grain de poudre wool, a fine, tight weave often used for upscale suiting. The jacket was a single-breasted style with softly curving and wide peaked lapels, flap pockets, a welted chest pocket, and a center back vent. Here is a similar design, the Chloé Tailored Jacket ($3390) in a double-breasted silhouette and metal buttons; the Vice President’s buttons appear to be horn, not metal.
The trousers are a wide-leg style. This pair of Grain de Poudre Pleated Wool Trousers ($1390) is similar to those worn by Ms. Harris.
Creative Director Chemena Kamali also designed the Vice President’s white crepe de chine lavaliere blouse. This style is also referred to as a pussy bow or tie-neck blouse. The fabric looks like it has a tone-on-tone stripe.
This Chloé design has a similar stripe, although it is clearly not the blouse worn by Ms. Harris.
I don’t believe Monday was the first time the Vice President wore the blouse. In photos from this past Sunday, she appears to be wearing the design.
Embed from Getty ImagesMore on Ms. Kamali via this piece in Women’s Wear Daily. “The German-born creative has more than 20 years of experience in the fashion industry, having had an earlier run at the house at the onset of her career and some time at Saint Laurent under Anthony Vaccarello.
The suit is not the first time the Vice President wore a Chloé design. In May, she chose a custom Chloé gown by Chemena Kamali for a state dinner marking an official visit by the president and first lady of Kenya. And last week she was in a pair of Chloé trousers for campaign rallies in Wisconsin and Michigan.
I think it’s a good possibility the Vice President’s blouse worn for the campaign launch in Philadelphia was also a Chloé design.
It very much resembles the brand’s Silk Tie-neck Blouse ($1490) in a color called ‘delicate pink.’
Why the Chloé ensemble for Monday night? There could be a number of reasons. Some of us immediately harkened back to the uproar when President Barack Obama wore a tan suit in 2014.
Embed from Getty ImagesMore from this CNN piece.
A decade ago, almost to the day, President Barack Obama enraged a handful of conservative commentators by briefing the press in a light-colored suit. Critics felt his sartorial choice was out of keeping with the gravity of the topic being discussed (namely the US military’s response to a then-flourishing ISIS). Vociferous birtherist Lou Dobbs meanwhile, slammed the outfit as “un-presidential” on Fox News, suggesting on air that it may be transmitting some sort of hidden message, possibly to America’s enemies..
Thoughts on the look from Rachel Tashjian at the Washington Post: “…it demonstrates Harris’s willingness to play the game of designer label gamesmanship. That she chose a French look rather than an American one underscores that point: I’ll wear what I wanna wear, not what you think I should. (The fact that Chloé calls that fabric color “coconut brown” is not another chronically online Easter egg from the Harris campaign but a complete coincidence, a representative said.)”
As the convention continued in Chicago on Tuesday night, the Vice President and Governor Walz attended a rally in Milwaukee.
It looks like the presidential candidate chose an electric blue suit by Alexander McQueen.
The jacket appears to be a classic Alexander McQueen style, the brand’s Peak Shoulder Leaf Crepe Jacket (originally $2590) in “electric navy.” I believe the Vice President wears this style in multiple colors.
The tailored jacket is a viscose/acetate blend and features some of the brand’s signature design elements, like the sharply angled pockets. It also has padded and slightly raised shoulders, peaked lapels, and a single-button front closure.
The trousers are similar to this pair, but I don’t think they are identical. It is tough to tell without seeing the waistline. The Pleat Front Trousers ($939) are the same viscose/acetate fabric blend and feature a front fly, two front pockets, and one back pocket.
I will see you later in the week with more updates!
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