Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter Ella Emhoff makes her catwalk debut at New York Fashion Week

The 21-year-old wore a long grey Proenza Schouler wool coat with fluffy embellishments, a midnight navy leather trench-type coat, and a black pantsuit

Emhoff says she ‘lost a little sleep the night before’ the shoot, which took place at the Parrish Museum in Water Mill, New York

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Ella Emhoff during her fashion debut for Proenza Schouler’s new collection. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:06am, 19 Feb 2021Updated: 10:05am, 19 Feb 2021

They already knew she looked good in a coat.

So the designers at Proenza Schouler decided to dress Ella Emhoff – art student, knitwear designer, fledgling model and stepdaughter of US Vice-President Kamala Harris – in a couple of coats (plus a pantsuit) for her modelling debut in their new collection, unveiled on Thursday for New York Fashion Week.

Designers Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough said the fashion world took quick notice when 21-year-old Emhoff appeared at the inauguration of US President Joe Biden and Harris in January, dressed in a quirky Miu Miu coat with bejewelled shoulders along with a starchy white collar. Social media took notice, too.

Soon after, the designers were planning their February show – actually a digital short, for pandemic reasons – and the casting director mentioned Emhoff. “And we said, ‘We were just talking about Ella.’ Seemed like everyone was kind of talking about her,” McCollough said in an interview.

Cole and Ella Emhoff during the inauguration. Photo: AP

As it turns out, Emhoff, a final-year student and art major at Parsons School of Design (where Hernandez and McCollough met and began their partnership) in New York, had just signed with IMG Models, joining an even bigger breakout star of the inauguration: poet Amanda Gorman.

The outdoor shoot took place recently on a blustery weekend at the Parrish Museum in Water Mill, New York. It was the first time Emhoff had walked a runway.

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