The Vice President has chosen pieces by Sergio Hudson for high-profile events as well as daily engagements. Below, Ms. Harris in a tuxedo coat and sequin dress by the designer worn on January 20, 2021 for the Celebrating America concert event following the inauguration.
The dress went through several iterations, including a full-on Inaugural Ball gown, before evolving into a riff on Hudson’s signature silhouette—“a pencil dress, long sleeves, with a strong shoulder”—to reflect the new administration’s unfussy, forward-moving tone.
“We kept the silhouette very structured and tailored, because that’s who the Vice President is,” Hudson says. “But the liquid sequins give her glamour and shine, because her influence and the way she’s broken barriers is a light for so many of us. She shines so we can all shine.”
The Vice President chose a dress and jacket by Mr. Hudson for the 2022 State of the Union.
We learn more about the designer’s roots in this Carolina Panorama piece by Karen Alexander.
Sergio Hudson was born Daniel Sergio L. Hudson, Jr. to Daniel and Sheldon Hudson in Columbia, SC in the mid-1980’s. He knew at an early age he wanted to be a high fashion designer. Being influenced by his mother, who was a tailor and his sister, who was a very successful model, he no choice but to fall in love with fashion. By the age of 10, Sergio was designing gowns for his mother’s clients.
The Vice President wears several Sergio Hudson pantsuits. She is seen in his Double-Breasted Wool Crepe Blazer and High-Waisted Flared Wool Crepe Pants at the 2024 Essence Festival of Culture.
In denim separates and a shirt by the designer at a September 2023 celebration marking the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop.
Below, shaking the hand of former Police Officer Mike Fanone in August 2021. The event was a ceremony awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to law enforcement officers who protected members of Congress on Capitol Hill during the January 6 insurrection.
Here you see the Vice President in an oft-worn navy blue suit by Mr. Hudson. These images are from the US Naval Academy’s graduation and commissioning ceremony in May 2021. Ms. Harris was the first woman to address graduates in the 175-year history of the academy.
Below, Ms. Harris wearing the label’s Double-Breasted Wool Crepe Blazer and High-Waisted Pants at the 2024 Essence Fest. The pieces are from the spring/summer ’24 collection.
Hudson was mentored by Bob Mackie’s right hand woman Cassandra Harrison while in design school at Bauder College in Atlanta, and counts his LA tailor Adolfo as a collaborator. “When we lose the technical skills of fashion, we lose the innovation and inspiration we bring to the rest of the world,” he says. “I grew up worshipping Alaia, Versace, and Thierry Mugler. I see Donna Karan as an absolute icon.”
“But I haven’t seen an African American designer who’s built a legacy brand,” he continues. “And I’m not ashamed to say that’s who I want to be. That’s what I’m aiming to do.”
Here you see Sergio Hudson in June 2023.
The Vice President chose a gown by Mr. Hudson for the 2023 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The sequinned column dress looks like it has much the same silhouette as the black sequin gown worn the night of the 2021 Inauguration concert.
Vice President Kamala Harris chose familiar styles for last night’s presidential debate in Philadelphia. She wore her Dior 30 Montaigne Jacket ($5000) and what looked like a version of the Straight Cut Pants ($1650). You have a better look at the ensemble in this photo of the Vice President and Second Gentleman at a Philadelphia watch party they […]
