by Tuesday night’s first – and possibly only – presidential debate between former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris was a must-see event for millions.
With both sides fully aware that the voters would be so upset by their words and behavior, each candidate dressed accordingly and conservatively. Vice President Kamala Harris wore a black pantsuit with a baggy white blouse, pearl earrings and heels, to the ABC News-moderated interview at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Former president Donald Trump wore a blue suit, white shirt and red tie for the 90-minute debate. Each competitor wore a small pin of the American flag on their lapels. While many viewers were eager to hear Trump and Harris’ views on tariffs, immigration, abortion, the economy, climate change, the Israel-Hamas war and foreign policy, some continued to take a closer look at their attire.
More from WWD
Both candidates were wearing “what we know completely about fashion,” according to Hazel Clark, a professor of design and fashion studies at Parsons School of Design. She described Trump’s look as “the same playbook” and Harris’s as “on point” for her style, as the dark blouse-white suit combination was “the most serious and formal choices she could make. “
An estimated 65 million viewers tuned in to Tuesday’s debate, up from the 51.27 million who watched Trump take on President Joe Biden in a 90-minute debate in June. However, the Trump-Harris debate did not match the 84.4 million viewers who watched the first of three debates in 2016 between then-presidential nominees Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Clark said Harris and Trump “wanted to get to know each other” and didn’t wear anything that would distract from their messages. “There were no sartorial surprises – so we could focus on what they were saying,” she said.
At last month’s Democratic National Convention, Harris accepted the Democratic party’s nomination for president in a custom navy blue Chloé grain de poudre wool suit with matching trousers and a crepe de chine lavallière blouse with tonal pinstripes. Chloé creative director Chemena Kamali designed the look. For her opening night appearance at the DNC in Chicago, the vice president wore a khaki pantsuit Chloé. Chloé executives did not acknowledge media requests asking if Harris had dropped the label for the debate.
Vice President Harris is said to be working with celebrity stylist Leslie Fremar, whose clients include Charlize Theron. A spokesman for Fremar declined to comment Wednesday.
While designers and brands can be quick to notify the media or post on social media whenever they dress a political figure for a global photo-op, that was not the case after the Harris debate- Trump. With election day less than eight weeks away, both camps may be aware of how designer ties could play with working-class voters. As in the fourth quarter of last year, the national average The salary in the US was $59,384, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Harris has paired his blazers with jeans for recent campaign stops, but Trump rarely wears jeans.
Catherine Leslie, a professor at Kent State University, hopes that Harris’ style will bring renewed energy to the power dressing trend. “This is in line with a number of other current trends which have emphasized more tailored clothing, and suits with jackets and blazers. Her selection of blouses with bows and other neckline features will further popularize power dressing styles,” she said.
The ABC moderators seemed to be on board with the power suit trend, with David Muir wearing a blue suit, white shirt and skinny blue tie, and Linsey Davis wearing a gray pin-striped pantsuit and a gray button-up blouse.
Fashion historian Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell said Harris’ choice of black was the perfect color for the occasion. As for what that showed to the voters, Chrisman-Campbell said, “She didn’t come to play; she projected confidence and command without saying a word. I don’t believe a woman has to wear pants to do that. But Americans are used to seeing their president in pants, and they put her on an equal footing with her opponent. Personally, I saw a little triumph of the Founding Fathers in the white blouse with the lavallière neckline. But, more importantly, the pop of white drew attention to his face, and the collar provided a feminine counterpoint to Trump’s tie.”
Whether Harris’ panache for pantsuits will cause a stir is uncertain. Chrisman-Campbell said, “They never really left. But her quiet suit may turn stylish to some people, who find pantsuits boring or basic.”
Others noticed the Harris pearl earrings. By Thursday morning, conspiracy theorists dismissed claims that Harris was wearing pearl earrings that were embedded with audible devices. Some claimed on social media that they were similar to Nova’s H1 audio headphones. Several media requests to the Munich-based startup and its founders were not acknowledged on Wednesday. Last May, Nova had raised almost $111,000 through a Kickstarter initiative.
Politicians and their spouses are regularly scrutinized and celebrated for their designer choices. On Friday, First Lady Jill Biden showed her loyalty to the designer world in a different way in New York City. FLOTUS was the surprise keynote speaker at the “Fashion for our Future” march. Organized by Vogue and the CFDA, the initiative attracted a turnout of 1,000 people including Karlie Kloss, Michael Kors, Thom Browne, Tory Burch, Wes Gordon, and Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez. The first lady wore a black blazer from European label Zadig & Voltaire that spelled out “Love” on the back in metal studs, and skinny leather pants and gray sneakers.
Although Melania Trump did not make the trip to Philadelphia for the debate, she will make several media appearances of her own when her memoir “Melania” is released. The book will be published by Skyhorse Publishing and released by Simon & Schuster. A media request to Skyhorse Publishing was not returned and a Simon & Schuster spokesperson declined comment on Skyhorse Publishing.
The best of WWD
Sign up for the WWD Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
