Biden’s Inauguration Puts American

Fashion at the Forefront

A
fter a busy Inauguration Day on
January 20, the Biden family finished off
the historic event at the Lincoln Memorial
for a virtual event titled Celebrating
America, a concert hosted by Tom Hanks,
featuring top performers such as Demi
Lovato, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry,
and more. The concert served as a stand-
in for the typical inaugural ball, which was
canceled due to Covid safety precautions.

The circumstances of the 2021 presidential

inauguration were unlike any other in our
country’s history. With the celebrations
limited, fashion was relied upon as a
powerful tool and it was impossible to
ignore how the new administration used
their outfits to tell a story.

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Joe Biden
For the late-night event, the newly
inaugurated president dressed in a Ralph
Lauren suit, accompanied by a matching
coat and mask by the same designer.
Although the significance of Biden’s outfit
may not be obvious at first glance, at a
closer look, the meaning is striking. Ralph
Lauren, a Bronx-born designer, built his
reputation on channeling the mythology of
the American dream, reflected in his work
dressing the United States Olympic team,
and working with both the Democratic
and Republican parties over the years,
representing his bipartition ideology.

Kamala Harris
Although the focus is on the inaugural
concert itself, it is important to mention
the significance of other outfits worn by
Harris throughout different events of the
inauguration. To begin, Harris wore a
camel colored coat to the Covid memorial
services prior to her inauguration. The coat
was designed by Kerby Jean-Raymond of
Pyer Moss, a designer dedicated to putting
Black Americans back at the center of the To the concert, Harris was seen in a black
country’s cultural story. He was also among sequin cocktail dress with a floor length
the first designers to raise money to help tuxedo overcoat, designed by Sergio
small businesses suffering from the Hudson, a Black, American designer.
lock down. A bold difference from the previous
administration, who favored
European labels.

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Jill Biden
Jill Biden wore a purple coat, dress, and
mask to the Covid memorial service
designed by Jonathan Cohen, a next
generation independent designer with a
strong focus on sustainability.
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To the inauguration itself, Biden wore a
matching Markarian, a New York-based
luxury fashion brand, dress and coat, the
color of which was intended to “signify
trust, confidence, and stability” according
to the designer.
The most significant of Biden’s outfits was
however the white, embroidered dress she
wore to the inauguration concert. This
outfit was designed by Gabriela Hearst,
a woman whose work is ingrained with a
mission of sustainability and professional
female empowerment. Hearst designed
Biden’s dress with embroidery reflecting
the federal flowers from every state and
territory of the United States of America.
Beyond the Person
The most striking, and significant, aspect of
the inaugural fashion resides with the color
of the outfits, specifically the colors purple
and white.
The meaning behind both of these colors
is debatable. With purple, to some it stands
as the color between red and blue as a way
to symbolize the unity between both the
Democratic and Republican party. Others
believe that the purple is a symbol of the
National Woman’s Party (the original
suffragist organization) as they wrote in
a 1913 newsletter, “Purple is the color of
27
loyalty, constancy to purpose, unswerving
steadfastness to a cause.”

White also stands as a reference to the

suffragette movement of the early 1900s.
Before adopting purple, women working
for voting rights wore all white. Part of
the idea was that theoretically, women
of all backgrounds and classes could join
the movement in a visible way, simply by
wearing all white.

This act has even lived through to today

as many contemporary politicians have
worn all white in recent years as a feminist
statement. Harris wore a white suit when
she gave her victory speech in November.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore a white
suit when she was sworn into Congress
in 2019. And in February 2020, all of the
Democratic women in Congress wore white
to the State of the Union to demonstrate
their commitment to women and other
marginalized groups.

With endless uncertainty during this

pandemic, one thing is for sure: this
administration plans to be intentional
in its wardrobe choices, supporting
young designers, BIPOC-owned brands,
American-made products, and small
businesses across the country.
Resources
https://www.insider.com/the-outfits-the-biden-and-harris-families-wore-to-inau-
guration-2021-1
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/fashion-trends/a35282027/
joe-biden-inauguration-american-fashion-importance/
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/a35273167/
jill-biden-and-family-inauguration-second-outfit/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/style/inaugural-fashion-kamala-har-
ris-jill-biden.html
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/inauguration-outfits-meaning-symbolism_
ca_600863d4c5b62c0057c259eb

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