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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ella Emhoff praises her Momala at the DNC convention

Emhoff, donning the viral Harris-Walz campaign camouflage hat, on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.
By Jada Yuan Washington Post

CHICAGO – When Ella Emhoff wore the viral camouflage Harris-Walz trucker hat at the Democratic National Convention Monday night, MAGA commentators called her outfit disrespectful to her stepmother, Vice President Kamala Harris. They were aghast at her many tattoos and even questioned her gender. Her many Democratic defenders quickly snapped back that the 25-year-old artist, knitwear designer and fashion model might just be the coolest, best-dressed person at any Democratic convention ever.

Thursday night, on the convention stage, she got to answer those critics, in a fairy tale pale blue gown by Joe Ando and talk about how her “Momala: had come into her life when she was 14 years old – “famously a very easy time for a teenager,” she said to laughter.

“Like a lot of young people, I didn’t always understand what I was feeling, but no matter what, Kamala was there for me. She was patient, caring and always took me seriously. She’s never stopped listening to me and she’s not going to stop listening to all of us.”

Ever since President Joe Biden announced he was stepping aside from seeking reelection, Ella has not only been the target of conservative ire, but also a front line defender of her family – frequently posting clapbacks about how much she loves her Momala.

She’s also been an endearingly relatable, Gen Z window into what it’s like to be a young adult just living your life in New York City when your stepmom gets tapped to potentially become the leader of the free world.

“Some chill organizing before my Sunday turned extremely not chill,” she wrote on Instagram after Biden endorsed Harris as his successor, posting a time-lapsed video of her cleaning up spools of yarn in her studio. “Thank you for all the messages.”

Tuesday night, there she was again, crying in a slicked-back bob and chic Thom Browne blue plaid suit as her brother, Cole, 29, introduced her dad, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who told the goofy story of the many eager voicemails he left for Harris when they got set up on a blind date.

“If you saw me cry on tv NO YOU DIDNT…” Ella wrote on Instagram. “Just kidding I was crying like a little baby… Proud doesn’t even begin to describe how I’m feeling after last night.”

The heart sign she made with her hands as her dad wrapped up his speech was instantly recognizable to anyone young enough to organically have a TikTok account.

When JD Vance insulted Harris as a “childless cat lady” who has no investment in the country, it was Ella who used her fluency in social media to defend her family.

“How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like cole and I,” she wrote in her Instagram story. “I love my three parents.” (Her mother, and Doug Emhoff’s first wife, Kerstin Emhoff, has been a fierce supporter of Harris, and had written on her own Instagram about how the vice president had been co-parenting their kids for ten years, helping raise them since they were teenagers. “She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it,” Kerstin wrote.)

Named after jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, Ella quickly became a source of national fascination at the 2021 inauguration, when she wore a plaid Miu Miu coat with a white collar and gold studded shoulders, along with a dress from hip designer Batsheva, that – shocker – went viral.

She was a student at the New School’s Parsons School of Design at the time, and soon got signed to IMG as a model, on the strength of that inaugural debut. She’s since modeled for Balenciaga and Collina Strada, and made her debut at the 2021 Met Gala in a red mesh bodysuit and matching pants by Stella McCartney. She frequently wears Thom Browne, who also designed Michelle Obama’s 2013 inaugural coat.

Signing the modeling contract, she told the New York Times, had never been something she’d ever thought would happen, but she jumped at the opportunity. “As someone who, like a lot of young girls out there, had self-confidence issues, it is intimidating and scary to go into this world that is hyper-focused on you and your body,” she said. But she wanted to show that a model could also have artistic passions, as well as “really weird tattoos and kind of a funky haircut.” Also one who frequently takes selfies without makeup, or showing off her armpit hair.

Speaking of those tattoos, she has around 18, including eggs and bacon and a cow, and gave many of them to herself during the pandemic.

While Ella mainly chooses to discuss art and family in public, she does wade into politics on occasion. She has a stipulation in her modeling contract that the brands she works with meet certain parameters regarding sustainability and politics. She got hammered by conservatives in November for posting a fundraising link for Palestinian refugees to her personal social accounts.

Mostly, though, to see her on the world stage, or just to glance at her Instagram, she comes across as a creative force, and a young woman just figuring out her life. She’s a knitter and started a knit club called Soft Hands.

It was Kerstin who taught her how to knit in a Disneyland hotel when she was six, with a yarn kit they bought at Target. The activity became a way to ease anxiety, and then a passion. In 2021, she launched her knitwear collective, and regularly hosts workshops for beginners at wine bars around the city.

She made her New York Fashion Week debut in 2023 with a pop-up presentation of sweater vests and mohair maxi dresses called “Ella Emhoff Likes to Knit.” She’s also exhibited her knit “paintings” at a Manhattan gallery-slash-weed dispensary. Much like her “Momala,” she said she created the club as an act of public service to her community.