By “It was cool,” says 28-year-old viral TikToker and Fashion Institute of Technology graduate Joe Ando, reflecting on seeing his creation showcased live at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) last week. “I wish I had a better word to describe it than cool.”
The dress, which stole the spotlight that night, featured a pale blue silk off-the-shoulder bodice paired with a hand-ruched tulle midi skirt. The wearer was none other than Ella Emhoff, the stepdaughter of Vice President Kamala Harris and a potential future first daughter of the United States. “My brain is always under the assumption it’s not that big of a deal,” Ando shared in a Zoom interview with CNN from his Brooklyn home. “She needs a dress, she wears it, people watch the event, but it won’t really be about what she’s wearing. But this was so public.”
The outfit was praised as “White House-worthy” by the streetwear and fashion blog Highsnobiety, while Vogue speculated that it might have cemented Emhoff as one of “America’s next fashion ambassadors.” The 25-year-old’s gown seemed to signal a new era of power dressing, where women no longer need to adopt masculine styles to look and feel powerful. “I wanted her to stand out, but in a way that was still very elegant and distinguished, and not obnoxious,” Ando explained, noting that the dress took between 70 and 90 hours to create. “We wanted it to feel like an elegant tea party… a modern princess moment.”
Ando didn’t get to see the final look until it was broadcast live on TV, as his and Emhoff’s schedules only allowed for a single midnight fitting before her morning flight to Chicago. “She did the fitting with us at midnight, then there were about four hours of edits that needed to be made,” he recalled. “I went back to my studio, got it to her at 7 a.m., and I only got to see if those edits worked when she walked on stage.”
Independent designers’ outfits occasionally appear on political campaign trails, often spotted by those with a keen eye. By choosing to support smaller brands over traditional names like Ralph Lauren, Carolina Herrera, and Oscar de la Renta, those in the public eye can communicate nuanced messages and promote emerging talent. During the 2021 inauguration of President Joe Biden, Kamala Harris wore a Pyer Moss camel coat by Kerby Jean-Raymond, a young Black designer challenging social narratives around race. Similarly, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden frequently opted for smaller, New York-based designers such as Markarian and Adam Lippes during a time when the industry was still recovering from the impacts of COVID-19.
Ella Emhoff, a knitwear designer herself, not only chose to wear an independent label on the final day of the convention but also played a significant role in the design process. “It was super collaborative,” Ando noted, contrasting it with his usual experiences of receiving minimal feedback from clients. “But with her, she was very involved.” He sent her multiple skirt silhouette options and every fabric variation, no matter how small the difference. “She wanted to see everything. She gave a lot of time to it and was a big part of the design, honestly.”
Before he was designing for the family member of a presidential nominee, Ando was creating unique dresses for any celebrity he could approach. With a tiny microphone, a shy demeanor, and an impressive 2.9 million TikTok followers, Ando filmed himself asking celebrities if he could make them a dress. His videos feature stars like Dakota Johnson, Rachel Zegler, and Keke Palmer, showcasing his sewing process in a homespun montage often followed by a satisfying try-on reveal.
While Ando continues to post his quirky dressmaking requests online, most of his current work comes from direct requests by movie studios and record labels. He also has several high-profile clients that he’s unable to discuss. “A lot of celebrities have a lot to worry about,” he said. “(They) have contracts with big fashion brands where they often can’t wear other brands at the risk of being sued. There are so many moving parts.” Not every A-lister is willing to appear in one of his TikTok videos either. “For those people, as nice as they are and as grateful as I am that they hired me, they might not want to dance in front of a camera. And that’s perfectly reasonable.”
Unlike many young designers who start with traditional runway shows and hope to dress celebrities for the occasional red carpet event, Ando has already built a star-studded client list and amassed millions of followers—all before even launching his brand. (His namesake label is set to debut in Spring 2025). “Yeah, we did it backward,” he said.
While Emhoff’s princess-inspired dress made headlines across the internet, many attributed the look simply to “That TikTok Guy”—a label that doesn’t seem to bother Ando. “I don’t need to be Rick Owens,” he said. “I don’t even need you to know my name. I just want you to see the work and hopefully appreciate it.”
“People might not take me seriously. I’m very insecure about that,” he admitted. “But it’s also the most important thing because people not taking me seriously allows me to fully dive in. Like if they’re not going to respect me, I kind of have nothing to lose.”
