.jpg "The Hottest Trend at NYFW? Harris-Walz Merch")
Earlier this morning, as New York Fashion Week showgoers slowly filtered into the Alejandra Alonso Rojas presentation, everyone had one thing on their mind: the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Typical NYFW chatter (“Who are you wearing?” “Busy week?”) was replaced with conversations about Trump’s wildly inaccurate remarks on abortion, or how well the debate moderators performed. Fashion week getting political? It’s actually been a trend all week long.
Pretty much every day this week, a number of front-row VIPs have been hitting the shows in various pieces of merchandise promoting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic nominees for president and vice president. It’s not unusual to see the street style set linger outside of venues in the hopes of getting their photos taken—but this season, what guests wore felt particularly intentional. Rather than focusing on wearing the hottest new designer or It bags, fashion folk opted for looks that doubled as political endorsements.
Photographed by Phil Oh
The camo Walz-Harris hats, for one, have been practically everywhere. The design was actually inspired by Chappell Roan’s merch—and indeed it has an easy appeal for hip, young voters. Fashion week fixtures like Jenna Lyons, Eva Chen, and Derek Blasberg were all spotted wearing these caps. Designer Christian Cowan even wore one to take his finale bow at his spring 2025 presentation.