Inauguration 2021: Kamala Harris' Stepdaughter Ella Emhoff's Eye-Catching Coat Sparks Newfound Appreciation

Wednesday's day-long inaugural events featured plenty of fashionable moments, but it was one of [...]

By Allison Schonter

Wednesday's day-long inaugural events featured plenty of fashionable moments, but it was one of the younger members in the inaugural crowd that had the most fashion-forward look of the day. As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took their oaths of office and were officially sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States, Harris's stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, stole the show with her embellished coat.

The 21-year-old daughter of second gentleman Doug Emhoff and his ex-wife, Kerstin Emhoff stepped out for the day in a plaid Miu Miu coat with embellished shoulders and an embroidered white collar. Beneath the coat, Emhoff wore a Batsheva dress. She completed her ensemble with a pair of circular glasses, a Loeffler Randall headband, and a black face mask.

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(Photo: Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, Getty)

Her bold look immediately had social media dubbing Emhoff a "style icon" and praising her as the "first daughter of Bushwick." Many were envious of her coat, which proved to be one of the breakout pieces of the inaugural events, which saw plenty of other fashionable ensembles strutting the Capitol complex.

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Emhoff, an artist and textile design student specializing in knitwear at Parsons School of Design in New York City, opened up about her Inauguration Day 2021 look with Vogue. She told the outlet her "mood board was very 'little girl' in a sense, a lot of scalloped collars and big silhouette shoulders and small buttons." Emhoff was "going for something girlier, to embrace my feminine side… because, like, how many times do you prepare yourself to attend an inauguration? This momentous of an event deserves a momentous outfit."

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To complete her inaugural day look, Emhoff collaborated with designer Batsheva Hay. The college senior said when selecting designers to work with and brands to wear, she wants to "be able to see them as an artist and as a designer, and work with people who I really respect." Noting that she loves New York City for its fashion community, she said "working with a designer from that scene who was able to create something formal was perfect."

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After getting in touch with Hay, the two got to work on completing the look. Hay noted Emhoff "liked a certain style that she'd found online," and so she "looked through some of the new things I was working on — samples and stuff — and we came up with a great version of it in a different fabric." Emhoff added, "The black would have been fine, but the color we chose happened to work perfectly with the coat I'm wearing. It was just fate!"

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Emhoff also discussed what it feels like helping to define the Biden-Harris administration's style, telling Vogue: "It's something that I think a lot of people in the past also haven't put as much emphasis on, especially because you didn't really think that certain people [in past administrations] were going to be throwing outfits out there. You didn't expect much. Amongst Dr. Biden and Kamala and Meena [Harris] and me, though, I guess there is kind of some anticipation about what we're going to put out there in terms of fashion. Maybe that's because we're all women, or maybe it's because we've had big outfits in the past, but I think people are definitely going to be paying more attention."

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Those hoping to strut around in ensembles just as stylish as Emhoff's just may be in luck! Emhoff and Hay teased that people can expect a knitwear collab from them sometime in the future.

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Speaking with Garage magazine in November, Emhoff said she aspired to have her own knitwear brand someday, stating, "I think the goal is definitely to have my own knitwear brand, label, whatever you call it. Setting up a shop, most likely online of where I can just have a bunch of different pieces that I'm constantly creating and doing my commission-based work and having that all be in a shop."

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In that same interview, Emhoff had touched on potentially creating her own Inauguration Day outfit. She said, "I want to, but like I was saying before, my style and my practice are so different, but I think I might have to just make an exception because for such a momentous occasion. I think it does require a pretty momentous outfit."

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