What symbolic meaning does Kamala Harris and Dr Jill Biden's designer attires at COVID Memorial have

New Delhi

It was a sight to watch as US President-elect Joe Biden accompanied by wife Dr. Jill Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris along with husband Doug Emhoff were spotted at the National Mall in Washington DC for a COVID Memorial honouring and remembering American lives that were lost during the pandemic. US Inauguration Day 2021 Live updates: Biden set to be next US President

Looking at the Mall’s pool of reflection were President-elect and Vice President-elect with their spouses. At the commemoration, Joe Biden said, “To heal we must remember. It’s hard sometimes to remember but that’s how we heal. It’s important to do that as a nation… Let us shine the lights in the darkness… and remember all whom we lost.” 

Kamala Harris had followed and said, “Tonight we grieve and begin healing together. Though we may be physically separated we the American people are united in spirit. And my abiding hope, my abiding prayer, is that we emerge from this ordeal with a new wisdom: to cherish simple moments, to imagine new possibilities, and to open our hearts just a little bit more to one another.”

As America hopes for a new future and hope for change, we can also reflect on changes that were hinted by the way of Kamala Harris and Dr Jill Biden’s sartorial choices. Dr. Biden chose a purple wrap coat and paneled dress from the fall 2021 collection of Jonathan Cohen, one of a new generation of American designers who is championing sustainability and responsible design. The color of the coat and mask was made from fabric scraps from Cohen’s studio. Also, the colour purple is what you get when you mix red and blue -- of the American flag.

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Meanwhile, Vice President-elect Harris wore a camel coat by Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss, a Black designer. On his runways, Jean-Raymond has addressed the erasure of African American narratives in popular culture via a three-part series of collections that he called “American, Also,” which included one show at Weeksville, a black neighborhood in Brooklyn. 

Take a closer look at their designer attires here: