VP Harris' wore a subtle message of support to AAPI communities

Vice President Kamala Harris leads Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Sen. Mitch McConnel on their way to hear President Biden's address to Congress Wednesday evening.

Sometimes, the usually outspoken Vice President Kamala Harris can be too subtle in her messaging.

On nationwide TV, standing behind President Biden as he gave his first speech to a joint session of Congress Wednesday evening, only an eagle-eyed fashionista would have noted that Harris wore a suit from an Asian American fashion designer Prabal Gurung.

Fashion magazine Vogue noted: "Harris’s cream colored pantsuit, paired with a pearly satin camisole, seemed to illustrate Biden’s assertion that Americans are 'choosing light over darkness.'"

The magazine asserts that by wearing the Gurung pantsuit, the Vice President, who is Indian Jamaican American, is showing her support for her fellow Asian Americans who are under attack by racists and being blamed for the spread of the coronavirus.

The Nepalese American designer wrote on Instagram last night what it meant to see Harris wear one of his creations.

“To see Madam Vice President continue to break barriers while wearing a Prabal Gurung ensemble to the Joint Session Congress at the United States Capitol in Washington, DC., fills me with the utmost joy and gratitude. A fellow child of immigrants and the first-ever female, Black and South Asian Vice President, her vision and tenacity inspire me—a Nepali American, Singaporean-born, Nepal and Indian-raised designer, daily,” wrote Gurung.

“I am so honoured to be part of this historical moment and am humbled by the visibility and re-energised in my mission to advocate for representation and create better paths for the future,” added the designer. “Here’s to dreams and manifesting them into reality with the love and support from your community.”

Fashion designer Prabal Gurung is prone to wearing t-shirts with messages.

Though Harris prefers not to comment on her wardrobe, she’s made a point of championing designers of color—Pyer Moss, Sergio Hudson and Christopher John Rogers also among them.

This is the second time the vice president has worn Gurung’s designs. Before being sworn in on Inauguration Day, Harris wore a burgundy dress and tailored coat to the Virtual Presidential Inauguration Prayer Service.

“Yes to matriarchal power. Madame VP in PG,” noted the Gurung while taking time for deeper reflection in Instagram feed, writing: “My story is one that could only happen in a place like America, and I continue to live my American Dream each day. I built my brand from its inception as a ‘luxury brand with a soul.’ ”