If Bernie Sanders was the unexpected meme to emerge from the U.S. presidential inauguration, then Ella Emhoff was the event's undisputed style star. One week after her stunning debut at the
swearing in of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, 21-year-old Emhoff has been signed by IMG Models, The New York Timesreports.
In the days following the inauguration, IMG also signed breakout poet laureate Amanda Gorman to its roster, which includes the Hadids, Karlie Kloss, and Hailey Bieber. Emhoff, the daughter of second gentleman Doug Emhoff and stepdaughter of VP Harris (or "Momala"), is a senior at New York City's Parsons School of Design. At the esteemed institution, she's studying fine arts with an emphasis in textiles. Emhoff's place in the fashion world was solidified, however, with her choice of an embellished plaid coat by Miu Miu and Thom Browne suit for the inauguration.
first daughter of bushwick and second daughter of the country, ella emhoff, arrives pic.twitter.com/CO3laQXkY9
— Ben Kesslen (@benkesslen) January 20, 2021
“I was pretty surprised when everything with IMG was happening because when I was younger, I never saw that as being part of my timeline,” Emhoff told the Times from her (probably) chic apartment in Brooklyn. She continued, “As someone who, like a lot of young girls out there, had self-confidence issues, it is intimidating and scary to go into this world that is hyper-focused on you and the body.”
Emhoff, who previously sold her own knitwear collection, explained that she's proud to represent the contingency of models who have “really weird tattoos and kind of a funky haircut.” As for her future in fashion, an Ella Emhoff x The Vampire's Wife collaboration is the healing this nation deserves.