A week after turning heads at the inauguration in support of her stepmother, Vice President Kamala Harris, Ella Emhoff signed a lucrative model contract.
The 21-year-old daughter of the second gentleman Douglas Emhoff signed with IMG Models, the main agency confirmed to the New York Times, thanks in part to his style of turning his head at the January 21 ceremony. Emhoff was declared a “style icon” after wearing a plaid Miu Miu coat with ornate shoulders, combined with a garnet in Batsheva tones.
“What she was wearing and who she was that day was in agreement with the person I met,” said Ivan Bart, president of IMG Models, to the Times of her DC look, noting that negotiations to put her in the IMG books started this summer, long before the election. “That’s why everyone noticed it.”
Bart also added that Emhoff has an authentic appeal.
“It is no longer about shape, size or gender,” he explained. “Ella communicates this moment in time. She exudes a bold look and a joy ”.
Versatility also seems to be a strong point. After wearing sporty bangs and a layered bangs cut in a video supporting his “Momala” Harris during the Democratic Nation Convention in August, Emhoff changed things on Induction Day, wearing glasses and curls tied by a demure tiara. Meanwhile, her Instagram feed showcases her peculiar knitwear designs, colorful tattoos (around 18, she said) and body hair.
This is not Emhoff’s first contact with the fashion industry. She is currently in her senior year at New York City’s Parsons School of Design – famous home of yore project Runway – and is studying fine arts with an emphasis on textiles while designing his own knitwear. She has also done some small modeling jobs in the past.
But she told the Times that she is “very surprised” that she is now in the big modeling leagues.
“When I was younger, I never saw it as part of my timeline,” admitted Emhoff, the second gentleman’s only daughter and his ex-wife, Kerstin.
She added that she hopes her unique look – citing her “really weird tattoos and a cool haircut” – “brings a little Bushwick into the realm of high fashion” and helps be “part of that change” in redefining beauty traditional patterns.
“As someone who, like many girls out there, had self-confidence issues, it’s intimidating and scary to enter this world that is hyperfocused on you and the body,” she said.
“I choose the moments when I want to show my style,” he added.
Emhoff also shared that she is “excited” about the possibility of using her new role to expand projects and causes close to her heart. But she admits it took a while to convince her famous family to accept the idea.
“Modeling can be a very intense industry – they protected me a little bit,” she explained. She added that they changed their minds “when they saw my interest in it and saw what is changing in that world. I think they are very excited that I can be part of this. “
She will be in good company. IMG also signed with the National Young Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, who made her own waves at the Biden-Harris inauguration.
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Originally published