Ella Emhoff has been recently named as one of Harper’s Bazaar‘s fashion icons for 2022 appearing at the magazine’s Icons Party last Friday. The 23-year-old has been making waves as a model, fashion designer, and artist but many people may recognize her from her stylish Miu Miu ensemble worn at President Biden’s inauguration, where she accompanied her stepmother, Vice President Kamala Harris. So who is Ella Emhoff and what makes her a fashion icon exactly?
Emhoff was born in 1999 to entertainment lawyer Douglas Emhoff, who after his divorce in 2008 remarried then Attorney General of California, Kamala Harris. This would immediately put Emhoff in the public light and ensure that whatever she did would be scrutinized, especially after her stepmother’s rise to the Vice Presidency. In an article for Elle magazine Harris discussed how both Emhoff and her brother, Cole, would call her Momola writing, “Cole, Ella, and I agreed that we didn’t like the term ‘stepmom.’ Instead they came up with the name ‘Momala.'”
After graduating high school, Emhoff went on to study at the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York where she studied fine art, focusing on apparel and textile. After graduating she went on to design her own knitwear and accessories which she sells on Instagram and her website. She launched her own knitwear line in April of this year deciding to go it alone after previous collaborations, telling Women’s Wear Daily, “I’m a one-woman show,” adding, “It’s cute and as authentic to myself as I can be.” She also sells her paintings and ceramics through her Instagram as well.
You have to do more than just design some rather fabulous knitwear to become a fashion icon though. Harper’s Bazaar states their prerequisite for their rising star “icon” status is “people 30 years old or younger—who are making an impact on the world through their ideas and their art.” Emhoff is doing just that, using her platform as a designer but also as a member of America’s Second Family to build a more inclusive industry.
The designer is an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights with a focus on transgender rights, backing the organization For the Gworls, a black, transgender-led collective that supports black transgender individuals by helping them pay rent, and afford gender-affirming surgery including travel costs and medical care. She held an online raffle for her designs with proceeds going to the organization.
On top of all this Emhoff was signed as a model by IMG Models, an international modeling agency, early last year. Her refusal to cover her tattoos or shave her armpits earned the attention of major news outlets such as the BBC and The New York Times. Her boyfriend, Sam Hines, believes this is part of what makes her iconic, telling People magazine, “She does herself and that’s the message. She is a true individual. And that’s the most important. That’s what being an icon really is.”
Speaking to People about her icon status Emhoff seems to be taking her role rather seriously, even if she is surprised, saying, “It’s kind of shocking.” She continues, “This is an incredible honor and as someone who doesn’t really think of herself like that it’s nice reassurance. And makes me check myself and the way I perceive myself, so exciting.” Though she doesn’t have any specific goals moving forward Emhoff knows what she wants in the now, working with people she finds inspiring.
She knows that the fashion world is transient and fickle, including her own interests, “So what I like now could be completely different from what I like next season, so I just like the process and the journey of it, and I’ve already got to walk for so many great designers like Miu Miu, Balenciaga, Proenza — those are already above and beyond my lists.” She is aware enough to add, “The only way to make it in this industry is to keep a level head, keep expectations level.”
Though Emhoff is keeping the future “loose” and “open,” she looks back to the past to draw inspiration from her younger self, telling Harper’s Bazaar, “I felt really iconic when I was a kid. I really had a lot of confidence, and I would do things that just felt like I’m the boss bitch of this world. I think whenever I try to feel iconic, I think back to little Ella and what would she do?”
With Emhoff still so young and with so many achievements under her belt, the sky is the limit for this designer/model/artist, and many can’t wait to see what she will do next.
