At New York Fashion Week, Ella Emhoff Is Topping Designers’ Ballots

Ella Emhoff is many things: artist, model, current second daughter, and potential first daughter of the United States, if stepmom Kamala Harris has anything to say about it—and now she can add Absolute Fashion Plate and 2024 New York Fashion Week MVP (the “p” is for “political offspring,” natch). Emhoff has had a very busy time indeed on runways across the city, solidifying her status as the most fashionable person ever to have walk-in privileges at the Naval Observatory.

She already wowed with her fashion at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, cheering on Harris alongside dad Doug Emhoff (a thirst trap icon in his own right for some) in designers such as Thom Browne, Helmut Lang, and Joe Ando.

Ella kicked off the busy fashion season on Sept 4, attending the Proenza Schouler show in a subtly sheer ensemble. On Monday, she took a turn on the runway on behalf of Coach, wearing a black leather miniskirt and blazer with a stylized “I [Heart] NY” tee, just a day after participating in Sunday’s intimate dinner party-turned-fashion show for edgy label Eckhaus Latta. Monday was a double-duty moment, for work and play: Emhoff attended the Tory Burch show, where a totally psyched Mindy Kaling shared selfies to Instagram and Emhoff filmed a cute video in support of the brand. Later, she grabbed a dog-shaped handbag and donned ribbon-trimmed sleeves for Thom Browne’s presentation over dinner.

Who was that cuddled up next to Paramore’s Hayley Williams and cooing over all the dogs in the front row of last Friday’s delightfully kitschy Rachel Antonoff x Susan Alexandra presentation? You already know it was Emhoff, whimsical white Peter Pan collar, ruffled blouse and all. On Saturday, she popped up once again at a Fashion Do, pairing a black tracksuit with pointy-toed pumps at Refinery29’s 29 Powerhouses gathering.

Emhoff has become a very specific type of fashion influencer, displaying a Bushwick cool sensibility that mixes high and low labels, vintage and new items, and keeps people guessing. Does the public, especially those of the J.Crew-wearing Beltway variety, always love her ensembles? That’s a no, but there’s no doubt that Emhoff takes sartorial risks and has a finger (the one not holding a crochet hook) on fashion’s pulse. In fact, she’s a bona fide DePop seller with a strict no-returns policy, and has prompted social media users to say (not incorrectly) that she “looks like she’s about to reject, one-by-one, all of the clothes I brought into Buffalo Exchange.”

While Harris bookended her DNC appearances with two different suits from Chloé, Emhoff has shown an invigorating versatility of style, both on and off the trail. Should she show up at Tuesday’s presidential debate to support Harris, the world will be watching to see what kind of sartorial statement she makes.

Reps for Emhoff and the Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Vanity Fair’s request for comment.