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It was a largely red, white and blue evening crowned by a delicate necklace of four letters strung on a thin gold chain, like four held breaths: VOTE.
The first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention may have taken its unofficial dress code clues (at least for many renowned speakers) from the theme of back to first principles – “We the people,” “United” – as evidenced by primary colors. But it was the necklace, worn by Michelle Obama during her closing speech, which symbolized the new distant reality of the moment and its urgency.
He made a virtue out of a recorded speech. He waved to you, emphasizing the close-up, intimate nature of his speech, drawing attention to the details. It wasn’t grand, nor meant to be seen in a huge convention center. It was personal, as was his statement. It underscored her words – spelled out the point, literally, so no one could miss it – as she spoke powerfully and emotionally about the need to act on empathy, to change the course of history for the better. . To vote, even if you were one of those who had not voted before. It reflected how each element of these events could matter and be used to emphasize a point and leave a lasting impression.
Before she finished speaking, the necklace was all the rage on Twitter. Footwear News called it “the must have accessory of 2020”. Viewers wanted to know where they could get one of their own, like an engagement banner. If you wear it, will they vote? May be.
Is it superficial to focus on such a thing, given the topics that surround it: racial justice, social justice, economic justice, environmental justice? Perhaps.
But it is these images that persist, just as it is the extracts from the long speeches – “He cannot meet this moment”; “This is what it is” (both Mrs. Obama); “Nero played while Rome was on fire. Trump golfs ”(Bernie Sanders) – echoed afterwards. A reminder of the above content, and potentially an amplifier.
Mrs. Obama has known this from her time in the White House. In her autobiography, “Becoming,” she wrote of the attention to what she carried: “I tried to reframe it as an opportunity to learn, to use the power I could find in it. a situation.” If people wanted to watch, give them something meaningful to take away. If she returned to the limelight, she would make it matter.
The necklace had been custom-ordered by ByChari, an independent, black-owned, women-run jewelry company founded by Jamaica-born and now Los Angeles-based Chari Cuthbert, who also created the large earrings. Mrs. Obama’s ears. Underneath them, she wore a simple bronze silk shirt from Nanushka, another independent brand founded by women and one of the new names in New York Fashion Week, all of which have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The choices weren’t just about style, but how each decision can resolve the larger crises we face. Even if it is the smallest.
Along with her decision to speak seated in what looked like a family room, with blurry personal photos and a Biden sign in the background, the understated shirt and accessories also served as a visual differentiator between the role that the former premiere. Dame is now playing as some sort of cultural figurehead – part celebrity, part older stateswoman – and the politicians who came before her.
As for these politicians, they were united in their costume and coordinated with the flags which were, for many of them, their backdrop of choice. It didn’t matter where they were in the country. (Civilian speakers, beamed from their homes by video to share their own experiences in intermediaries of raw conversation, were distinguished by their own unadorned wardrobes.)
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, for example, stood at a podium in a bright red shirt and navy leather blazer, the latter serving as a sturdy outer shell as she called out President Trump for describing her as “that woman of the Michigan”. Then there was Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, in a bright sky blue tie in his coronavirus briefing room, taking the federal approach to the virus. (Also in blue ties: Senator Doug Jones of Alabama and Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana.) There was Senator Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota, in a real blue jacket, calling for unity and crossing the river, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, without a single unaligned hair, in blue on blue as he wholeheartedly endorsed Joe Biden.
And although Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada avoided flags for the kitchen, she did so in a bright red suit jacket and black shell. Even former Ohio Governor John Kasich, who was part of the Republicans contingent for Biden, wore a blue plaid shirt as he stood at a crossroads talking about America at its crossroads.
For all those who needed this point clarified.
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