The New First Lady of New York Sets Off a Fashion Firestorm
Melania Trump has one:Hervé Pierre Braillard. Michelle Obama had one, too,Meredith Koop. And Rama Duwaji, the chic visual artist wife of New York’s new mayor,Zohran Mamdani, has a stylist as well. First ladies, after all, can’t be expected to dress themselves. Duwaji’s now-viral look — a vintage Balenciaga coat paired with Miista’s pointed-toe, lace-up Shelley…
Melania Trump has one:Hervé Pierre Braillard. Michelle Obama had one, too,Meredith Koop. And Rama Duwaji, the chic visual artist wife of New York’s new mayor,Zohran Mamdani, has a stylist as well.
First ladies, after all, can’t be expected to dress themselves.
Duwaji’s now-viral look — a vintage Balenciaga coat paired with Miista’s pointed-toe, lace-up Shelley boots — was put together by Vogue editor–turned–New York stylistGabriella Karefa-Johnson, who, we’re told, actively pursued the mayor’s wife.
Karefa-Johnson, of course, exitedVogueunder somewhat hostile circumstances, after a viral Paris Fashion Week dust-up in which she publicly took issue with the Miu Miu T-shirt worn byGigi Hadid— criticism that quickly snowballed well beyond the clothes.
This time, the backlash wasn’t about the stylist — it was about the mayor’s wife. After photos of Duwaji in Balenciaga and $630 boots circulated, critics online pounced on the optics of a so-called “democratic socialist” in luxury fashion, particularly given Mamdani’s rhetoric around affordability. It was soon reported that the look had been rented: the vintage coat from Irene Albright’s bi-coastal Albright Library, the boots likely loaned by the brand.
The controversy escalated quickly. Although Miista says the Shelley boots are now selling briskly, some social-media protesters have been harassing those involved online. Karefa-Johnson gave a handful of interviews about her styling for Duwaji, but then suddenly went quiet. According to multiple sources, she has signed an NDA with the mayor’s office. The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Karefa-Johnson and her representatives: no response.
So what happens next? Will Karefa-Johnson dress New York’s first lady again? Will Duwaji continue renting designer fashion under this level of scrutiny? If Duwaji’s recent fashion shoot inThe Cut— published Dec. 23, 2025 and handled by fashion editorJessica Willis— is any indication, she’s emerging as the mod-political style figure of the moment. The spread featured Jacquemus, Diotima and Marc Jacobs, many noted as “on loan,” and positioned Duwaji as a contemporary echo of ’60s musePeggy Moffitt.
The fashion world, at least, is watching closely.
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