Tag: Outfitting

Dr. Biden, Moon explains, did not merely embrace fashion, but helped advance the White House’s relationship with the industry. Under the Biden administration, Ralph Lauren became the first fashion designer to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The former First Lady and President also hosted fashion designers including Lauren, Gabriela Hearst, and Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim of Oscar de la Renta at state dinners and receptions. “She never shied away from establishing a relationship with the industry,” Moon says, “Dr. Biden came into the White House appreciating and loving fashion.”

A South Carolina native, Moon recalls growing up with a keen interest in fashion, one that favored “classic references of American style” that represented American values, he says, listing Jackie Kennedy, Carolina Herrera, and Oscar de la Renta as references. After a brief stint interning for stylists in the editorial world he moved on to working in PR, which led to his first meeting with the Biden camp in 2018 when Hearst, who he was working for, dressed her for an event. “I felt then that something would come from that relationship, so I kept in touch and when they decided to run I reached out to offer my help with the campaign,” he recalls.

His role as an advisor, which had been mostly online during the campaign given the pandemic, was formalized with the 2021 inauguration. The relationship then evolved organically based on shared values about American style, Moon says, which led to him advising Naomi Biden for her 2022 nuptials. The wedding was featured in Vogue, and Moon has a cameo in one of the images by Norman Jean Roy.

Naomi and Jill Biden. The bride wears a gown by Ralph Lauren, the First Lady is in Reem Acra.
Photographed by Norman Jean Roy. Vogue, November 2022.

Spot the back of Moon’s head in the bottom left corner.
Photographed by Norman Jean Roy. Vogue, November 2022.

As the only First Lady to maintain external employment during her time at the White House, Dr. Biden represented a departure from tradition. She also came into the role with an established political image having served as Second Lady for eight years. “The other day someone was describing to me what they think of the Bidens’ style, particularly the First Lady’s, and they said that they saw it as a return to classicality and traditional First Lady style,” Moon says, “which I would actually like to counter.”

While Dr. Biden was perhaps not trendy, her style was seldom conservative; consider a blue velvet Schiaparelli column gown for a state visit in France last year or her zippered double-breasted Ralph Lauren set for King Charles’ coronation in 2023. The First Lady also made it a point to utilize her position to uplift American designers “big and small,” from Lauren and Michael Kors to Jonathan Cohen and Marion Parke, a Minnesota-based footwear designer. She famously rewore looks for major events, unlike past First Ladies in office, like a sparkly frock by Lauren at the Democratic National Convention last year. (Rosalynn Carter wore the same blue chiffon gown to her husband Jimmy Carter’s 1977 inaugural ball as she had to his 1971 gubernatorial inauguration.) “It was important to underscore her appreciation for and the value of American craft,” Moon explains.