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Ella Emhoff wearing Proenza Schouler© Hunter Abrams

Kamala Harris’ Stepdaughter Ella Emhoff Makes Runway Debut at New York Fashion Week

Emhoff was scouted by IMG Models after her embellished Miu Miu coat went viral at inauguration.


Jovita Trujillo
Jovita Trujillo - Los Angeles
Senior WriterLos Angeles
FEBRUARY 18, 2021 9:42 PM EST

Ella Emhoff, the stepdaughter of Vice President Kamala Harris made her official runway debut at one of the biggest weeks in fashion- New York Fashion Week. model walked the walk for the American label Proenza Schouler. Emhoff was scouted at her stepmom and President Joe Biden’s inauguration after her embellished Miu Miu coat went viral. Shortly after the ceremony, Emhoff was signed to IMG Models. The agency is one of the best in the world and has represented supermodels like Karlie Kloss, Gisele Bündchen, Bella and Gigi Hadid. Emhoff shared photos from the shoot on her Instagram page and thanked the brand and photographer in the caption writing, “thank you thank you thank you @proenzaschouler couldn’t have worked with a better duo <3 and @hunterabrams cause you are simply a shining light.”

Ella Emhoff for Proenza Schouler© Hunter Abrams
Ella Emhoff for Proenza Schouler
Ella Emhoff© Hunter Abrams
Ella Emhoff

Fashion Week went digital this year since the coronavirus still refuses to leave the spotlight. Proenza Schouler presented its Fall-Winter 2021 womenswear collection digitally and Emhoff was the second model to make the concrete perimeter of the Parrish Art Museum in New York her runway. The show notes that the collection aims to“comfort, inspire, and empower the modern-day woman.” Per CNN, the collection blends sharp, structured tailoring with cocooning knitwear and an array of playful statement features from long fringed sleeves and soft padded slippers to leather socks under structured stilettos.

In a recorded interview for NYFW at Spring Studios in London, the new model said the experience was “epic.” “I definitely lost a little sleep the night before,” she told Proenza Schouler 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.” She has also knitted for the last 13 years and dreamed about being a designer. “For a really long time when I was younger, I wanted to be a designer. Then I took it a little more seriously, I started taking courses at Central Saint Martins over two summers...It definitely exposed me to the intensity of design school.” Emhoff doesn’t want her designs to be limited but social constructs either. “I want to see guys, girls, people, everyone wearing striped colorful pants or my dresses,” she explained. “I think that’d be great.”

Proenza Schouler | Fall/Winter 2021/22 | NYFW