History was made in New York on Wednesday (local time) when Zohran Mamdani became the city’s new mayor. When he took the stage to deliver his victory speech, the crowd roared at that moment. Through his speech, Mamdani asserted that it is the dawn of a “new age” for New York, but subtly, it was her wife, Rama Duwaji, who gave a deep meaning via her dress. The city’s new First Lady was standing poised as her husband was shining amid loud cheers and chants. She was wearing a square-necked, laser-cut denim top by Zeid Hijazi, a Palestinian-Jordanian designer known for weaving Middle Eastern craftsmanship into contemporary silhouettes.
She created a look that was strikingly unorthodox for an American political debut as she paired it with a flowing black skirt by New York designer Ulla Johnson and minimalist Eddie Borgo earrings. Duwaji’s fashion choice silently echoed her husband’s pro-Palestine stance and her own artistic activism. As a Syrian-American illustrator, she has long used her art to amplify Middle Eastern women’s voices — especially Syrian and Palestinian.Her decision to wear a Palestinian designer on the day when her husband embarked on a new journey as the mayor of New York City was more like a statement of solidarity. That was not made through speeches but through presence.
