Kamala Harris on Wednesday opted to wear a dress designed by two Black designers for her historic inauguration as the US vice-president.
Her husband and the Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff was wearing a Ralph Lauren suit. In fact, the US President-elect Joe Biden was also wearing a navy suit and navy overcoat by the American designer.
Harris, 56, has created history by becoming the first woman, first Black and first Indian-American vice president of the United States.
In opting to wear the dress designed by Christopher John Rogers and Sergio Hudson, Harris has sent her own message to the country that Black designers have arrived on the scene.
Harris has opted for the colour purple as a nod to Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman to run for president. Chisholm campaigned for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 1972.
Rogers is a young Black designer, from Baton Rouge, and lives in New York City. Hudson is a Black designer from South Carolina.
Rogers has sold made-to-order designs from his Brooklyn studio since 2016, according to Forbes.
In 2020 his eponymous label was sold in stores -- including Net-A-Porter and Forty-Five Ten -- for the first time. Winner of the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America /Vogue Fashion Fund Award, he has already dressed Michelle Obama, Lizzo, Rihanna and Cardi B in the past.
Hudson is determined to prove that Southern designers have what it takes to succeed in the fashion industry, according to his website.
Hudson hates over-embellishments and believes that his strongest skill is constructing structured, but feminine pieces.
He is currently working on the second collection of his namesake women's line, "The Sergio Hudson woman is a vision of a lifestyle."
Hudson graduated from Bauder College with an Associate degree in Fashion Design.
