My Morning Marching With the Fashion Elite

Only Anna Wintour could summon the American fashion community together before 9 a.m. on a Friday, as she did today in Herald Square, for something as vague as a “nonpartisan march in midtown Manhattan.”

Technically, the event was led by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), but the Vogue effect was palpable, given Wintour is the real head of the American fashion industry anyway. And the surprise guest was the magazine’s August cover star, First Lady Jill Biden, who gave a short speech and thanked Wintour “with all of her heart” for her counsel and friendship. “No one has shaped this industry more than you have,” she said.

When I received my invitation a few weeks ago, I was confused by the CFDA and Vogue’s desire to kick off New York Fashion Week with a nonpartisan event. Wintour is a longtime Democratic Party fundraiser who has already come out for Kamala Harris; she hosted a benefit for her a few weeks ago in the Hamptons with Tory Burch, who was also at Friday’s march. Campaigns like “Rock the Vote” are nothing new. But they feel vintage, and not in the cool aughts-nostalgia way. In 2016, Vogue broke tradition and endorsed a presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, for the first time. That year, Wintour hosted a fashion show for Clinton, which featured designs from many of the same designers I saw on Friday morning, including Joseph Altuzarra, Prabal Gurung, and Burch. In what world is anything related to the American fashion Establishment, as represented by the CFDA and Vogue, nonpartisan? (And wouldn’t this kind of campaign be more effective in a battleground state, anyway?)

First Lady Jill Biden gave a speech at Bryant Park.
Photo: Udo Salters/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

But when I heard whispers that the march was mandatory for Vogue staff, with a 7:30 a.m. call time, it made more sense. (Good luck forcing your newly unionized staff to attend a political rally, even if most of them are supporting the same candidate.) Most of the attendees seemed to come from magazines or brands whose leaders, like Burch or Harper’s Bazaar editor Samira Nasr, were clearly enthusiastic about the event. (I overheard a few Burch employees frantically asking each other, “Do you see Tory?”) Thom Browne’s team was the easiest to spot, not only because there were dozens of them, but because they all styled the event’s “VOTE” shirt designed by Old Navy with the brand’s signature gray suits.

The morning was incredibly well photographed, starting with the kickoff at Herald Square, where Michael Kors, CFDA president Steven Kolb, and Burch posed behind a long banner that read, “FASHION FOR OUR FUTURE.” Lots of people carried the same message on preprinted signs. Volunteers were mixed in, asking people if they were registered to vote. It took around 30 minutes to reach Bryant Park, where, after passing through metal detectors, we waited for the speakers: designer Aurora James, Browne (in his role as CFDA chairman), and finally, the First Lady. The audience cheered as she mentioned Michelle Obama and called for a ban on assault rifles, mentioning the school shooting that took place this week in Georgia. And her big finale encouraged people to vote and “remind everyone that we can vote our way to a future where freedom really does ring.”

The whole event — from the march to the Bryant Park finale, where the DJ played “Material Girls” and “Electric Feel” — had a corporate-picnic vibe, even when sporadic chants of “V-O-T-E” broke out. But people seemed earnestly happy, if only for a reason to skip a morning in the office. Brand teams took group pictures in their matching “Fashion for Our Future” shirts. No one said Kamala Harris’s name. Or Trump’s, for that matter, except for a rogue bicyclist who shouted “Vote Donald Trump” before being shooed away by security.

Prabal Gurung and Samira Nasr were among the most enthusiastic marchers.
Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images