Behind the two most stylish women at this week’s Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama and Ella Emhoff, were two Asian American designers making their presence felt on the political stage.
The former first lady caused a stir on the Internet with the dark blue sleeveless suit she wore during her speech on Tuesday night.
The outfit was for Monse, a New York-based luxury label founded by Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, two of Oscar de la Renta’s creative directors. According to the Monse website, Kim was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, where she learned about fashion from her grandmother, who worked in textile manufacturing. She moved to New York to attend Pratt Institute, where she was spotted by de la Renta.
After Michelle Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention, the brand praised her on Instagram.
“Michelle Obama embodies the Mons woman in every way and exudes the strength and confidence that is at the core of our brand. We are honored to outfit such an inspiring leader,” the post read.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff’s daughter Ella, 25, wore a pale blue and white gown designed and handmade by popular TikToker Joe Ando Hirsch, 28, known to many as “The Dress Guy,” who has also designed dresses for other celebrities, including actresses Keke Palmer and Dakota Johnson.
He documented the making of Emhoff’s dress on his TikTok page, which has 2.9 million followers.
Ahead of the Democratic National Convention, he posted captions such as “Choosing fabrics for a historic event” and “Finished my nationally televised dress in 3 days,” hinting at who the dress was made for.
On Thursday night, when Emhoff took the stage with his family, Andor Hirsch finally revealed that the design was his, posting a video of him seeing his creation on a national stage.
Ando Hirsch also revealed in a series of Instagram Stories that Emhoff knitted the flowers on the dress’ sleeves himself, and Gen Z viewers, who have come to love Emhoff for his knitting and unique sense of style, went wild for the dress on social media.
“Yay Joe!!” Emhoff commented on his Instagram post.
