Kamala, Donald and the others: why fashion is a very political issue in the US
Towards the elections. Strategic looks
4' min read
4' min read
The pearls that communicate authority, the shirt with the Lavallière collar that evokes autonomy and independence, the 'tan suit' that recalls the non-conformist looks of the most revolutionary tenant that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has ever had, at least until today: Barack Obama, the first African-American president in US history.
The link with aesthetics - a concept that obviously goes far beyond style - is something that has always characterised politics, because it influences voters' judgement. At a time when media overexposure amplified by social media reigns, the style choices of the US presidential candidate (who apparently relies on New York stylist Leslie Fremar) convey precise and studied messages. As do those of the Republican candidate, Donald Trump.
Between institutional looks and working class garments
Already four years ago, on 8 November 2020, when from Wilmington, Delaware, she delivered her first speech as vice-president (the first woman in history), emphasising that protecting democracy requires effort, Kamala Harris was also telling through her clothes of a 'glass ceiling' that had been broken: she was swaddled in a white trouser suit, historically a symbolic colour of the suffragettes as well as that of the dress worn by Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman elected to Congress, and around her neck she sported the first of many 'pussy bow', the Lavallière bow, associated with the idea of women, since the eighteenth century, trying to 'take back space' in a patriarchal society.
On the other hand, Donald Trump - who has made the suit and tie his uniform since the 1980s - has worn reflective blue-collar waistcoats, McDonald's fryer aprons and fireman's helmets during his election campaigns, but always in combination with the dark suit and red tie. A message 'on the contrary': that of the entrepreneur who immerses himself - or tries to immerse himself - in the reality of his constituents, identifying himself with one of them (but always remaining himself: the white shirt, in fact, is never abandoned, not even under the apron).
Returning to the US vice-president's looks, the so-called pussy bow also seems to be a constant in her campaign for the presidency: it also returned on 10 September, on the occasion of the first televised face-to-face with Donald Trump, where Harris wore a black so-called power suit (a suit of power, i.e. a suit with a masculine cut). The power suit Kamala Harris has always made one of her hallmarks (like the already mentioned pearls) even in the last moments of the election campaign where she often opted for an all-blue look, the symbol colour of the Democrats.
