Who's Ella Emhoff, stepdaugher of Kamala Harris and next fashion icon

There were a lot of high fashion moments during Inauguration Day 2021, but when Ella Emhoff, stepdaughter of Kamala Harris made her appearance on the Capitol the whole world went silent. Blame it on the iconic and quirky look composed by a pied-de-poule coat, featuring cottage-core cotton collar, shattered waist and wide shoulder straps with a cascade of golden sequins sewn on, designed by Miu Miu, Ella Emhoff showered any other participant with style at the event, representing a committed generation Z committed to the political renewal of the country. The 22-year-old longileous girl was hit by a real wave of popularity after 20 January 2021: Proenza Schuler wanted her to model at NYFW to represent its "modern woman" and IMG Models Worldwide immediately put her under contract "not so much for her physicality" the agency said "as for her being the perfect incarnation of a historical moment". In fact, the androgynous look and artistic soul of Ella make her the key style icon of the new family at the White House, and representative of a gen z who loves a bohemian lifestyle but is at the same time woke to the political-social and environmental fate of the whole world. Not all children choose to follow footsteps of their parents, but some are still destined to leave their mark. Let’s discover together who Ella is, what she does and love, and especially why she is so coveted in the fashion world.

Less is more

Not a post nor an Instagram story about perhaps one of the most important days of her life on a mediatic side. Focused on her passions and thus right without even making the effort to comment on the epicity of her first public release: that’s enough to understand Ella’s mood, tall and talented daughter of lawyer Dough Emhoff and film producer Kerstin Emhoff, who loved jazz so much that she decided to give her second child the name of the most powerful female voice of the genre, Ella Fitzgerald. No frills style for the rising star who’s too busy looking into the future to waste time in choosing what to wear in the morning, Ella says she has "a uniform" and loves minimal and functional clothes for her personal style. In all her fits a very personal touch that synthesizes dreams and intentions it’s always detectable, a very fluid and straddling the gender distinctions spice she adds to every look. She calls herself queer, supports transgender women’s rights associations and loves tattoos. She actually started tattooing by herself during pandemic, because she a self starter. She lives in the indie neighbourhood of Bushwick in Brooklyn, went demonstrating for the first time at 9, in 2004, after Proposition 8 referendum in California abolished the possibility of marriage between persons of the same sex.

Love for art and fashion

Raised in an environment where politics was definitely present even before Kamala’s arrival in the family in 2014, her true passion is far from his father’s legal footsteps. Ella has been a true fashion enthusiast since childhood, has attended summer fashion design courses at Central Saint Martins in London and she is now a textile design student at Parsons in New York, a school that has lulled the talents of fashion designers stars such as Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan. She is going to graduate soon, with a very personal project halfway between art and fashion, focused on knitwear, a sustainable production model and with which she is able to create really special and functional effects. She is liked the fashion world so much because she is an insider, driven by a powerful creative force that combines sustainability, minimal and eclectic style at the same time. She puts all her creative energy at the service of her ideas: "It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to dream a garment, to be able to realize it and see it worn by other people", confides to Jack Mccollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler in a panel made for NYFW. On her IG profile @ellaemhoff, she shows and often wears her knitted creations, that are also available for purchase. 

Next in fashion

The fashion world would seem to be her future, given her first catwalk with Proenza Schouler, who identified her as an it-girl of the moment dedicating space to her as an artist too, and the collaboration with the American brand Victorian-era inspired Batsheva. She chose to wear under the infamous Miu Miu coat a long dress in "house in the prairie" style of the brand, known for its playful relationship with traditional and victorian-echoing women’s clothes, which she then accessorized with leather elbow lenght-gloves and boots for an edgier look. Ella is very focused on conveying with her brand a similar approach of challenging femininity perspectives, although the venture isn’t ready to launch yet a precise aesthetic, playful and full of color is already present in her mind. Aware of the facilitation of social networks in the sale, Ella is wishes to start her business immediately after graduation.

The relationship with her family

Being the acquired daughter of the first woman Vice President of the United States and biological daughter of the first man who holds a role that was usually intended for women is definitely a unique experience. Ella’s family has lived through some very interesting recent months, but without the cohesion and great affection they have matured over the years it might not have been that easy. The relationship with his brother Cole helps the young designer to manage tension, because he sees a great friend and a supporter in him. About Kamala, who she calls "Momala" because she hates the austere sound of the word stepmother, she says she’s fantastic, but sometimes can turn a bit difficult to handle. "If you have not prepared a well-defined Excel file, on your aspirations, political opinions or on how the world goes, you will not survive that meal» says Ella to the New York Times talking about some anedoctes of when she invites her friends home for dinner.