Kamala Harris Wears Custom Chloé Suit to Close DNC

As delegates began to file inside Chicago’s United Center on the final night of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, it was clear that thousands of women got the same memo. A sea of white could be seen across the stadium as female attendees took their seats while decked out in colorless blouses, dresses and power suits as a way to honor the decades-long suffrage movement, which led to American women securing the right to vote in 1920.

Political pundits and TV anchors clocked the sartorial trend as cameras panned across the crowd to show white ensembles seemingly everywhere, some of which were accessorized by American flags and wide smiles on a frenzied evening for Democrats that would end with Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the party’s nomination for president. Speculation hit overdrive: Would Harris follow suit and wear all white, like Hillary Clinton did at the DNC in Philadelphia in 2016 when talk centered on shattering glass ceilings?

The night’s celebrity host, Kerry Washington, hit the stage early on in the program wearing a cream crocheted dress. Cameras cut to Nancy Pelosi showing her in a white power suit with bright blue top underneath. Gabby Giffords wore an off-white blazer during her passionate comments about gun reform. The same segment saw Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia and Melody McFadden also in white while they shared their own emotional stories about how their lives had been impacted by gun violence.

Some men got in on the action as the Pack Drumline entertained the crowd in white pants, shirts, jackets and headbands. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer wore a silver dress that appeared white on television. Ella Emhoff, daughter of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, wore an off-the-shoulder dress by Joe Ando that featured a white skirt.

But then came Harris to close out the show as the first Black woman and first Indian American to secure a party’s nomination for president. She bucked the night’s trend by wearing a custom navy power suit and matching silk blouse by French fashion house Chloé, a choice that seemed to say history has been made, now let’s get down to business and shatter that final glass ceiling. It’s unlikely Harris will reveal the reason she opted for navy as fashion decisions rarely if ever come up in press conferences. Plus, as designer Sergio Hudson recently explained to The Hollywood Reporter, “She never wants to be perceived as a fashion plate,” said the L.A.-based Hudson who has created custom looks for Harris.

Harris also wore Chloé by creative director Chemena Kamali on Monday, the first night of the DNC, when she stepped out in a bespoke camel-hued suit and white silk-crepe blouse that many took as an homage to the tan suit President Barack Obama wore for a press conference in 2014.

Aside from earrings and a bracelet, Harris accessorized her navy suit tonight with an American flag pin placed on the lapel. “Let us write the next great chapter in the greatest story ever told,” Harris said in closing, as the capacity crowd responded by chanting “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”