For this historic day, newly-elected Vice President Kamala Harris’ Inauguration look was created by two Black designers. Kamala Harris, officially the first Black, South Asian, and female Vice President of the United States, made a true fashion statement with her Inauguration Day outfits. Harris wore Christopher John Rogers and Sergio Hudson, two Black designers, for the historic event.
Along with her signature pearls symbolizing Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, Harris wore a long purple ensemble by Rogers and Sergio Hudson heels. Rogers, who graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2016, is a Black and queer designer. In an Instagram post today, he wrote of the monumental opportunity, writing, “Thank you, Madam Vice President. We are so honored and humbled to have played a small part in this historic moment.”
The color purple itself is incredibly symbolic for the new Vice President of the United States and is certainly a purposeful choice of color. As W Magazine wrote, “the purple is a nod to Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman to run for President of the United States.”
Nodding to a woman who certainly paved the way for Harris, the color purple also is simply a combination of red and blue, symbolizing uniting the country in this divisive time. This isn’t the first time Rogers designed for a prominent political American political figure. Rogers previously designed a green suit for former First Lady Michelle Obama for her Becoming book tour.
He told The Cut on designing for Obama, “It means the world to me and my team that one of the most outspoken and inspiring women chose to wear our work, and to close out her book tour…her being a highly progressive woman of color makes it that much more special. I think it’s definitely another milestone in my very short career … And it just underlines the fact that we mean business.”
Story & Photo Credit: Jared Alexander/thegrio
