Kamala Harris, sneakerhead

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September 18, 2020

Good morning, Broadsheet readers! President Trump faces a new assault allegation, Rent the Runway ditches Unlimited, and we learn more about Kamala Harris, the sneakerhead. Have a restful weekend.
– Converse campaigning. I’ll never pass up a story about what political candidates eat on the campaign trail. Same goes for stories about what they wear.
This cycle, the campaign wardrobe beat has turned to Kamala Harris’s shoes, specifically her penchant for an American staple: Converse Chuck Taylors.
Her sneakers first got earnest attention on Sept. 7 when a video of her de-planing in Milwaukee in Chucks garnered 8 million views in a day. Harris’s shoe choice is not new. She told The Cut all about her Chucks collection in 2018. “I have a whole collection of Chuck Taylors: a black leather pair, a white pair, I have the kind that don’t lace, the kind that do lace, the kind I wear in the hot weather, the kind I wear in the cold weather, and the platform kind for when I’m wearing a pantsuit.”
Fashion, as we know, can be a powerful political messaging tool. So, what do Harris’s shoes say? Lauren Rothman, a D.C.-based political stylist, told Elle that the “affordable American brand is bold yet accessible,” a choice that “radiates confidence” and could boost Harris’s “likability” during a tough campaign. (If you deep-sighed at “likability,” I am with you.)
The sneakers do convey a down-to-earth, approachable attitude. Will they win over voters who dislike the Biden/Harris ticket? Probably not.
But other commentators argue that, beyond changing hearts and minds, Harris choosing a more relaxed look for the biggest political stage could finally convince her peers to do the same.
As women’s work wardrobes have grown more casual over the years, the field of politics has been especially slow to evolve. (Remember ‘ Shouldergate‘ in 2017?) Two years ago, The New York Times‘ Vanessa Friedman profiled the Dress to Win class at the Women’s Campaign School at Yale. There, experts gave political newcomers seemingly impossible advice: Your clothes shouldn’t speak for you, but they should say something about you. That needle seems impossible to thread, but with her Chucks, perhaps Harris pulled it off.
At the very least, her sneakers might encourage the growing number of female candidates to appear more authentically on the campaign trail; to—as CNN political analyst Hilary Rosen put it—dismiss any “convention about what female candidates are supposed to wear and do.”
Claire Zillman
claire.zillman@fortune.com
@clairezillman
Today’s Broadsheet was curated by Emma Hinchliffe.

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

- Assault allegation. President Donald Trump faces a new allegation of sexual assault. Amy Dorris, a former model, says that at the U.S. Open in 1997 Trump "forc[ed] his tongue down her throat, assault[ed] her all over her body and h[eld] her in a grip she was unable to escape from." Trump denied the allegation. Guardian
- Rent the Runway Limited. Rent the Runway, led by CEO Jennifer Hyman, touted the growth of its unlimited service before the pandemic. Now, consumer habits have changed so much that the clothing rental company has scrapped the offering entirely. Its new options for subscribers will offer monthly rentals of four, eight, or 16 items, a change that Hyman says was in the works before March. CNBC
- The ABCs of small biz . In this profile, Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat discusses Google's approach to small businesses during the pandemic. Porat is the executive leading the charge on the tech giant's small-business relief efforts. Forbes
- History lessons. Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones's "1619 Project" for the New York Times has drawn the ire of conservatives who object to its framing of American history through the perspective of enslaved people. President Trump went a step further yesterday by saying he would sign an executive order in favor of "patriotic education" through what he called the 1776 Commission. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos also expressed her support for such an effort.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Dataminr hired Bridgewater Associates CFO Nella Domenici in the same role. The Endometriosis Foundation of America hired journalist Diana Falzone as director of media relations and advocacy. Dana Marohn of Morgan Stanley joined ZoomInfo as VP of strategic finance and treasurer.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

- Out of her Court. The arena at Melbourne Park that hosts tennis's Australian Open bears the name of Margaret Court, the athlete who holds the all-time record of 24 major singles titles (the one Serena Williams has been chasing.) Now tennis star Andy Murray has added his voice to the group calling for Court's name to be removed from the venue because of her history of opposition to same-sex marriage and transgender athletes. "I don’t think her values are what tennis stands for," he says. Reuters
- Wait for it. John Lewis, the U.K.'s retail group that controls Waitrose supermarkets, among other businesses, is set to record its first annual loss since it was established in 1920. The employee-owned business, led by chair Sharon White, also eliminated its annual staff bonus for the first time since 1953. Guardian
- White House wage gap. There's a gender pay gap in the Trump White House, according to an analysis by The 19th. Women in the Trump administration make 69 cents on men's dollar; the Obama White House wage gap was about 85 cents on the dollar, closer to national pay inequity stats. The 19th

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