Earlier this morning, as New York Fashion Week showgoers slowly filtered into the Alejandra Alonso Rojas presentation, everyone had one thing on their mind: the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Typical NYFW chatter (“Who are you wearing?” “Busy week?”) was replaced with conversations about Trump s wildly inaccurate remarks on abortion, or how well the debate moderators performed. Fashion week getting political? It’s actually been a trend all week long.
Pretty much every day this week, a number of front-row VIPs have been hitting the shows in various pieces of merchandise promoting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic nominees for president and vice president. It’s not unusual to see the street style set linger outside of venues in the hopes of getting their photos taken—but this season, what guests wore felt particularly intentional. Rather than focusing on wearing the hottest new designer or It bags, fashion folk opted for looks that doubled as political endorsements.
The camo Walz-Harris hats, for one, have been practically everywhere. The design was actually inspired by Chappell Roan s merch—and indeed it has an easy appeal for hip, young voters. Fashion week fixtures like Jenna Lyons, Eva Chen, and Derek Blasberg were all spotted wearing these caps. Designer Christian Cowan even wore one to take his finale bow at his spring 2025 presentation.
Other pieces spotted on the ground, meanwhile, included classic Kamala tees, which designer and 15 Percent Pledge founder Aurora James wore to the Willy Chavarria show. At the Michael Kors presentation, theater producer Jordan Roth stepped out wearing a custom Harris-Walz clutch bag. Turns out, Roth totally DIY’d the evening piece; A fitting choice, given the show occured on the night of the debate. “This is an Amazon clutch with a bumper sticker on it,” Roth shared on Instagram. “Kamala Couture!”
Harris-Walz merch hitting the front row isn’t the only way this NYFW has gotten political, either. Just last week, the CFDA and Vogue’s Fashion for our Future march kicked off the week by inviting those within the fashion industry to march and encourage everyone to go to the polls this November. For his part, Willy Chavarria s entire spring 2025 runway show was about politics. Beneath a giant American flag, the designer created a collection that reflected the American working class, drawing attention to United Farm Workers Movement. “This [season] is all about power to the people,” Chavarría said. “It’s this country through the voice of the immigrants, and the people who make this motherfucker run.”
