Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter Ella Emhoff has been branded a ‘new style star’ after turning heads in three stunning outfits at the inauguration yesterday.
The 21-year-old textile student — who is the daughter of Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and his ex-wife, Emmy award-winning film producer Kerstin Emhoff — attended the inauguration in a bedazzled brown coat from Italian designer Miu Miu, before taking it off to show a burgundy tea dress from independent New York designer Batsheva Hay.
As soon as Ella stepped onto the platform at Capitol Hill next to her 26-year-old brother Cole, Twitter and Instagram were flooded with posts calling her a ‘style icon.’
Social media users are calling Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter Ella Emhoff a new style icon since her inauguration appearance
Ella, posing with her father, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, wore a Miu Miu coat for the ceremony
Head-turning moment! The 21-year-old walked out with her brother Cole, 26
Ella walks alongside her dad, her stepmother Kamala, Kamala’s niece Meena, and one of Meena’s daughters
Hours before the inauguration, Ella posed for pictures at the Lincoln Memorial with her mom and brother, and was already dressed to impress.
She went for a preppy, polished vibe, teaming a collared button-down-shirt with a patriotic red, white, and blue pleated skirt from Thom Browne’s Fall 2020 collection. She topped it all off with a chic long coat, a necktie, and a small hand-held bag.
But it was at the inauguration ceremony itself that Emma caught international attention, walking out with her brother Cole.
There, she turned heads in a mid-length wool Miu Miu coat, with a plaid pattern, a cinched waist, and pockets at the hips. At the top was a contrasting white collar and orange-gold crystal embellishments.
A similar coat in black costs $4,950.
Underneath, she later revealed she was wearing a burgundy tea dress from independent New York designer Batsheva Hay.
Her looks have already caused a stir in the fashion world, with Teen Vogue calling her the ‘cool girl’ of the Biden-Harris administration, Vice branding her a ‘slow fashion king,’ and British Vogue saying the coat was the ‘first viral moment’ of the new Presidency.
Hours before, Ella wowed in a preppy white shirt and tie tucked into a striped Thome Browne pleated skirt in the colours of the US flag as she posed with her mother and brother at the Lincoln Memorial on Instagram
Under her statement-making coat was a burgundy dress by designer Batsheva Hay
Her dress seemed somewhat coordinated with a turquoise Ulla Johnson number that Kamala’s niece Meena wore
Ella is pictured with her mother, Emmy award-winning film producer Kerstin Emhoff
Twitter users flooded the social media platform with praise as well.
‘I have to stan ella emhoff, style icon,’ wrote one.
‘I’m very excited for four years of Ella Emhoff,’ wrote another.
‘OBSESSED with Ella Emhoff’s coat,’ wrote a third, while a fourth tweeted: ‘Excited for Ella Emhoff to become a style icon over the next four years.’
Ella and her brother Cole call Vice President Harris ‘Momala’
‘Ella Emhoff did with one coat what Ivanka couldn’t get done in four years. Instant style icon,’ wrote Tom and Lorenzo.
‘Lots of great outfits but gotta go Ella Emhoff for the win,’ journalist Ashley Parker tweeted.
Writer Evan Ross Katz added: ‘The shoulder embellishments on Ella Emhoff’s coat? I smell a style icon in the making.’
Celebrity stylist Tracy Taylor took to Instagram to write: ‘A new style star is born!’
Ashlie Johnson, another celebrity stylist added: ‘That coat was everything.’
‘Ella Emhoff, the second daughter and Parsons design student, is bringing *serious* fashion to DC, like fashion industry people fashion (Batsheva! Thom Browne! Miu Miu!), which is very exciting for those extremely bored by DC’s unwavering loyalty to nude heels, navy suits, etc.,’ opined reporter Shira Tarlo.
Her brother even commented on the look, taking to Instagram to say he was behind the scenes with Ella ‘The Coat’ Emhoff.
Twitter users flooded the social media platform with praise for Ella’s style, and her Miu Miu coat in particular
Speaking to Vogue, Ella, who is in her final year at the Parsons School of Design in New York, explained how she had the bespoke look made.
‘My mood board was very “little girl,” in a sense, a lot of scalloped collars and big silhouette shoulders and small buttons.
‘I was going for something girlier, to embrace my feminine side — especially after that suit that I felt so great in — because, like, how many times do you prepare yourself to attend an inauguration? This momentous of an event deserves a momentous outfit,’ she said.
As for the burgundy dress by Batsheva Hay she wore underneath her coat, she added: ‘Something that’s really important for me, especially with people I wear, is: I want to be able to see them as an artist and as a designer, and work with people who I really respect.
‘I love New York for its fashion community, especially the parts that are created through Instagram, so working with a designer from that scene who was able to create something formal was perfect.’
Ella and Cole are pictured at the inauguration after she was praised for the Miu Miu coat
Fans who have followed Ella on Instagram are familiar with her sense of style. She is currently studying textiles at Parsons in New York, and specialized in knitwear
‘I think the goal is definitely to have my own knitwear brand, label, whatever you call it,’ she told Garage
Fans who have followed Ella on Instagram are familiar with her sense of style. She is currently studying textiles at Parsons in New York, and specialized in knitwear.
‘I think the goal is definitely to have my own knitwear brand, label, whatever you call it,’ she told Garage. ‘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.
‘I’d like to try and stay a one-woman show, but I think as stuff has started ramping up with my knitwear, it’s been harder. I’m only one woman, I can only make so many commissions while I’m also trying to just enjoy life.’
This week, she also spoke to the New York Times about what it’s like for her stepmother to be the Vice President.
‘When we went to see them for Election Day, it really hit me, like, Whoa. Seeing them is a lot different now,’ she said. ‘There’s a lot more people. I think the idea of sharing our parents with the world is kind of insane. Like, it’s a really cool thing to wrap your head around — because you get to share all the great things — but it’s also like, Huh?!’
AParsons School of Design art student, Ella lives in Brooklyn, New York
‘I think the idea of sharing our parents with the world is kind of insane,’ she admitted
She and her brother Cole also dished on Doug and Kamala’s relationship, with Ella saying: ‘It’s so insane. It’s like the honeymoon phase forever. Like, the rest of the world gets to see it on social media, but we live that.’
As for her budding style icon status, stylist and fashion blogger Simon Glazin tells FEMAIL that Ella has emerged as a ‘sartorial dark horse.’
‘We have a new style star connected to the new administration. All eyes on Ella,’ he said
‘Looking statuesque, cool and chic all at once is hard to pull off, but she managed to do it! This Miu Miu coat, with it’s gorgeous embellishment and oversized collar is a statement. And really establishes herself as a sartorial dark horse.
‘Ella definitely has her own unique style — quirky, eccentric and street — you only have to look at her Instagram for that. But this Miu Miu moment took us all by surprise!’