Look of the Week: Megan Thee Stallion and Kamala Harris serve the power pantsuit two ways
By Leah Dolan, CNN
(CNN) — Two suits, two women, one message: “Hotties for Harris.” At least that was the phrase scrawled across banners at Kamala Harris’ campaign rally in Atlanta Tuesday night.
The event — part of Harris’s bid to secure the Democratic presidential nomination — was headlined with a performance from rapper Megan Thee Stallion, 29, whose fans nickname themselves “hotties,” after the chart-topping 2019 track “Hot Girl Summer.”
The three-time Grammy winner arrived on stage to perform in a pair of second-skin cobalt flares, a matching cropped blazer and tie by designer Abdul Sall. Underneath, her white collared shirt was similarly slashed at the midriff, exposing her gleaming belly button stud.
Minutes later, Harris walked onto her podium to rapturous applause — also in a blue pantsuit. Considering Megan’s typical stage wear features thong leotards and sheer catsuits, it doesn’t take a seasoned fashion critic to pick up on the sartorial message. At first glance they might have been twinned; two women from very different corners, at the top of their respective careers, defining power dressing on their own terms. (Harris did, however, adopt some of Megan’s swagger with her challenge to Donald Trump to debate her: “If you have something to say, say it to my face.”)
The choreographed spectacle was a continuation of the Harris team’s modus operandi: Meeting the Gen Z voters where they are. From being endorsed by Charli XCX and co-opting the album of the summer, “Brat,” to capitalizing on the 32.3 million-strong fandom of Megan Thee Stallion, her advisors have been honing in on the 18-27 demographic.
But how do you capture the attention of younger voters without alienating your core audience?
What Harris seems to be trialing is the power of association: While she remains unchanged, and stylistically understated (the New York Times’ chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman went further, calling her a “dull” dresser, while acknowledging the double standard), her endorsers do the heavy lifting. So, if the Vice President remains set on cycling through a rotating wardrobe of near-identical neutral pantsuits eternally paired with her trusty “70-millimeter Manolo Blahnik heels,” — then perhaps Megan was a kind of proxy, doing the daredevil, eye-catching dressing for her.
Megan isn’t the first musician to offer an endorsement to a presidential candidate (though Harris won’t be officially selected at the Democratic National Convention until August). During Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016, pop culture endorsements were there in equal measure from Madonna to Bon Jovi to Lady Gaga. Perhaps one the most memorable celebrity supporters of Clinton’s campaign eight years ago was Beyoncé, who made a surprise appearance during a rally in Cleveland, Ohio. The superstar arrived onstage in a polka dot Givenchy pantsuit and a black sequinned collared shirt — something one could even imagine Harris wearing for an evening engagement today.
It’s hard to picture Clinton signing off on a decision to have Megan Thee Stallion “shake cheeks,” as one fan on Instagram wrote, in a cropped suit at a rally. But in the age of TikTok, outfits have to be grabbier and performances more dramatic. While it’s safe to assume Harris’ will stick to her uniform, we might expect a constellation of fearless dressers to emerge around her — lending her some of their star power, and Gen Z appeal, along the way.
The-CNN-Wire
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