Rama Duwaji’s Miista Boots Causes a Stir Online, Stylist Speaks Out

Rama Duwaji was in attendance as her husband Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as New York City’s 112th mayor in the former City Hall subway station on Thursday. While it was a momentous occasion for the couple and for the city, with him becoming New York’s first Muslim and Asian American mayor and the city’s first mayor originating from the borough of Queens, Duwaji’s boots caused quite a stir online.

As Mamdani’s term as mayor began immediately in the new year, the couple walked into the old City Hall Station hand in hand after midnight, with her wearing a pair of Miista’s Shelley Boots. The edgy black leather boots featured a low, sculpted block two-inch heel and a striking decorative lace-up design running vertically up the back, finished with a tie at the top.

While the boot style wasn’t a traditional choice for a first lady, it was the price tag on the Miista Shelley Boots that sparked controversy, since they retail for $630. The criticism was aimed at the cost of Duwaji’s fashion choices, claiming that it was hypocritical for her to wear pricey designer clothing and footwear, since they believe it contradicts her husband’s political stance as a democratic socialist.

Mamdani’s senior advisor, Zara Rahim, reached out to Gabriella Karefa-Johnson to style Duwaji for her first public appearances as New York City’s first lady. The fashion editor turned stylist responded to the online chatter and cleared the air about Duwaji’s ensemble by sharing a blog post on her website, Brain Matter. She clarified that everything Duwaji wore to the swearing-in ceremony was borrowed or on loan.

Duwaji’s team borrowed the vintage Balenciaga coat she wore from Albright Fashion Library, as well as rented her archival earrings from New York Vintage. She paired them with shorts from The Frankie Shop, and the boots were also on loan from Miista.

“I’m just going to have to get comfortable with the fact that people on the internet do not understand what being lent a sample that has been borrowed before and will be borrowed again means but, you know what, that’s okay,” Karefa-Johnson wrote in her blog. “I love that she’s added a new chapter to garments that have already lived many lives — and that their next wearers will get to share in this piece of history.”

It is common practice for celebrities and politicians to borrow clothes for photo shoots, red carpets or public appearances. Karefa-Johnson also highlighted that thrifting is something Duwaji often does, as someone with a penchant for fashion and style, so renting secondhand clothing and loaning luxury shoes felt appropriate for the couple’s big moment. For Mamdani’s inauguration ceremony, she wore a brown coat designed by Palestinian-Lebanese designer Cynthia Merhej of Renaissance, and another pair of lace-up brown leather boots.