Ella Emhoff, stepdaughter of Vice-President Kamala Harris, made her surprise catwalk debut on Thursday during a socially distanced Proenza Schouler presentation at New York Fashion Week. The 21-year-old, who signed with IMG Models after her fashion moment at January's presidential inauguration, walked the runway for the first time.
'I definitely lost a little sleep the night before,' Emhoff admitted during a conversation with label designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. 'I mean, I'm walking for the first time, I'm in a professional environment for the first time … It was a very epic first experience with the fashion world.'
In the digital video, Emhoff wore three different looks at New York's Parrish Art Museum. She paired her trademark wire-rimmed glasses with slashed grey trousers and jacket, a black pipe bag and cream shearling slippers. She also modelled a yellow tie-dye turtleneck top and black trousers under a black leather trench coat, and a black wool blazer with matching trousers.
Emhoff said she had wanted to be a designer from a young age and had taken courses at Central Saint Martins over two summers. 'It definitely exposed me to the intensity of design school,' she told CNN.
On her Instagram page, Emhoff is holding a raffle to win a pair of pink striped trousers she knitted, with proceeds going to charities For The Gworls and the Okra Project, which support black transgender women. 'I want to see guys, girls, people, everyone wearing striped colourful pants or my dresses,' she said.
