"This momentous of an event deserves a momentous outfit."
How Ella Emhoff and Batsheva Hay Came Up With An Inauguration-Worthy Dress
Inauguration Day always ushers in change, but perhaps never more so than this year, when President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will finally wrest control of the White House away from the Trump administration. Biden and Harris's families were, of course, on hand at the swearing-in ceremony on January 20, and preparations for the day began well in advance; for Ella Emhoff, Harris's 21-year-old stepdaughter, that meant collaborating with designer Batsheva Hay to come up with a truly one-of-a-kind 'fit for the occasion.
This week, Vogue spoke to Emhoff—a designer in her own right who is currently a senior at Parsons—and Hay about the process of coming up with an Inauguration Day dress that worked with Emhoff's Miu Miu coat, their feelings on D.C. style, and a potential future collaboration. Catch up on the conversation below:
Batsheva, how did you feel when you found out your clothes were on Ella's "mental mood board" for Inauguration Day?
BH: I was so amazed. I didn't even know Ella's Instagram or how to contact her, but my friend was like, "Kamala's stepdaughter is so cool, you have to check out her work." I never thought she'd know who I was, but my friend was like, "You should definitely shoot her." Then, all of a sudden, this came up, and we followed each other, and I went down the rabbit hole of seeing all of Ella's knitwear. I was literally trying to buy stuff, and it was all sold out! I became obsessed, and was like, what do I have for her? How can we make this happen?
How did you go about choosing a specific look for Ella?
BH: Ella liked a certain style that she'd found online on Matches, and I looked through some of the new things I was working on—samples and stuff—and we came up with a great version of it in a different fabric.
EE: The black would have been fine, but the color we chose happened to work perfectly with the coat I'm wearing. It was just fate!
Ella, what vibe were you going for with your Inauguration Day outfit? How did you want to feel in it?
EE: My mood board was very "little girl", in a sense; a lot of scalloped collars and big silhouette shoulders and small buttons. I was going for something girlier, to embrace my feminine side—especially after that suit that I felt so great in—because, like, how many times do you prepare yourself to attend an inauguration? This momentous of an event deserves a momentous outfit.
This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Emma Specter
