Tuesday night's first - and possibly only - presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris was an event that millions couldn't miss.
Both sides knew that voters would judge them by their words as much as their actions, so both candidates dressed conservatively and accordingly. Vice President Kamala Harris wore a black pantsuit with a white pussy-bow blouse, pearl earrings and heels for the ABC News-moderated showdown at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Former President Donald Trump wore a blue suit, white shirt and red tie for the 90-minute debate. The opponents each wore a small American flag pin on their lapel. While many viewers were eager to hear Trump and Harris' positions on tariffs, immigration, abortion, the economy, climate change, the war between Israel and Hamas and foreign policy, some always take a closer look at their clothes.
More from WWDBoth candidates wore "what we know perfectly well about their way of dressing," said Hazel Clark, a professor of design and fashion studies at the Parsons School of Design. She described Trump's look as "the same old playbook" and Harris' look as "on point" for her style, saying the combination of a dark suit and white blouse was "the most serious and formal choice she could make."
An estimated 65 million viewers tuned in to watch Tuesday's debate, up from the 51.27 million who watched Trump battle President Joe Biden in a 90-minute debate in June. However, the Trump-Harris debate fell short of the 84.4 million viewers who watched the first of three debates in 2016 between then-presidential candidates Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Clark said Harris and Trump "tried to convey familiarity" and didn't wear anything that would visually distract from their messages. "There were no surprises in terms of clothing - so we could focus on what they were saying," she said.
At last month's Democratic National Convention, Harris accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for president in a custom-made navy Chloé grain de poudre wool suit with matching pants and a crêpe de chine lavallière blouse in tonal pinstripes. The look was designed by Chloé creative director Chemena Kamali. For her opening appearance at the DNC in Chicago, the vice president wore a khaki Chloé pantsuit. Chloé executives did not respond to media requests for information about whether Harris wore the label for the debate.
Vice President Harris is reportedly working with celebrity stylist Leslie Fremar, who counts Charlize Theron among her clients. A spokesman for Fremar declined to comment on Wednesday.
While designers and brands can quickly alert the media or post on social media when they've dressed a political figure for a global photo shoot, that wasn't the case after the Harris-Trump debate. With Election Day less than eight weeks away, perhaps both sides are aware of how designer ties can play to working-class voters. In the fourth quarter of last year, the average nationalsalary in the U.S. was $59,384, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Harris has paired her blazers with jeans for recent campaign stops, while Trump rarely wears jeans.
Catherine Leslie, a professor at Kent State University, expects Harris' style to inject new energy into a power dressing trend. "This is in line with other current trends that emphasize more tailored clothing and suits with jackets and trousers. Her choice of blouses with bows and other neckline features will further popularize power dressing styles," she said.
The ABC presenters appeared to embrace the suit trend, with David Muir wearing a blue suit, white shirt and a crisp blue tie, while Linsey Davis wore a gray pinstripe suit and gray button-up shirt.
Fashion historian Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell said Harris' choice of black was the perfect color for the occasion. What that meant to voters, Chrisman-Campbell said: "She wasn't there to play; she exuded confidence and authority without saying a word. I don't think a woman needs to wear pants to do that. But Americans are used to seeing their presidents in pants, and they put her on an equal footing with her opponent. Personally, I saw a little Founding Fathers flair in the white blouse with the lavalier neckline. But more importantly, the white accents drew attention to her face, and the collar provided a feminine counterpoint to Trump's tie."
Whether Harris's flair for pantsuits will spark a revival is uncertain. "They never really went away," Chrisman-Campbell said. "But her quietly stylish suits may convert some people who find pantsuits boring or basic."
Others had noticed Harris' pearl earrings. On Thursday morning, conspiracy theorists claimed Harris was wearing pearl earrings that contained hearing devices. Some on social media claimed they resembled Nova's H1 audio earrings. Several media requests to the Munich-based startup and its founders went unanswered on Wednesday. Nova had raised nearly $111,000 through a Kickstarter initiative in May of last year.
Politicians and their spouses are routinely scrutinized and celebrated for their designer choices. On Friday, First Lady Jill Biden showed her loyalty to the designer world in a different way in New York City. FLOTUS was the surprise keynote speaker at the "Fashion for Our Future" march. The get-to-vote initiative, organized by Vogue and the CFDA, drew a crowd of 1,000, including Karlie Kloss, Michael Kors, Thom Browne, Tory Burch, Wes Gordon and Proenza Schouler's Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez. The first lady wore a black blazer by European label Zadig & Voltaire with "Love" emblazoned on the back in metal studs, skinny leather pants and gray sneakers.
Although Melania Trump did not travel to Philadelphia for the debate, she will make a few media appearances of her own once her memoir, "Melania," is released. Skyhorse Publishing will publish the book, and Simon & Schuster will release it. A media request to Skyhorse Publishing was not returned, and a spokesperson for Simon & Schuster deferred comment to Skyhorse Publishing.
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