Amanda Gorman was the first poet to ever appear on the cover of Vogue magazine and it’s for a reason. Gorman’s rise to fame took off in 2017 where she became the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate by Urban Word. While she graduated cum laude at Harvard University and is an award-winning writer, she is most commonly remembered for speaking at the 2021 inauguration. It’s no secret that Gorman is an incredibly successful wordsmith and beyond intelligent, but many may not know that she also has a hidden eye for fashion.
For Vogue’s May edition, they decided to feature the 23-year-old poet. Gorman has racked up quite the collection of achievements in her years, but her most known work would be her powerful performance at President Biden’s inauguration. Her poem “The Hill We Climb”, did not skim over the siege of the Capitol building that happened a few weeks before the inauguration. Gorman tells the New York Times, “It’s doing that in a way that is not erasing or neglecting the harsh truths I think America needs to reconcile with.” However, while girls everywhere have this new role model to look up to, she also became a fashionista in her own way.
Gorman may be mainly known for her powerful work, but her eye for fashion is just as bold and vibrant as her words. In 2019, Gorman was invited by Prada to their Milan Fashion Week shows and from there, her position in the fashion industry has changed forever. Gorman was in love with how clothing could help develop her own image and how it could be molded to her style. We saw this in Gorman’s inauguration outfit with the satin red headband. While the hairband originally didn’t suit her hairstyle, her mother suggested that she wear it such as a crown or a tiara, and from that, we got her iconic and unique look that day. We can even look at her performance as the first-ever poet to perform at the Super Bowl. She wore this gorgeous blue coat coated with crystals by Moschino paired with a glistening pearl headband.
As beautiful and powerful as Gorman’s words are, there was also a need for a balance between beauty and power in the young poet’s wardrobe. Gorman often thinks of herself as not only a poet but a performer. In an interview with Vogue Gorman says, “The idea that I would have to recite this poem in front of other people was daunting, but also a really powerful and important and beautiful part of it too.” Her style choices are impressive, unique, and always convey underlying symbolism as well. For instance, her buttercup yellow coat that she wore during the inauguration was the same color as the outfit she wore when Dr. Jill Biden discovered her.
Amanda Gorman, as beautiful as her words come across on the page, is a rare beauty in herself. She has impeccable style and is able to carry herself in a remarkable way. From wearing a headband in a unique way, to wearing a yellow coat to honor Dr. Jill Biden, Gorman knows how to mold fashion to herself. She recognizes herself as a performer and understands how much clothing can determine how we are viewed in this world. However, Gorman also knows how to mash her intelligence, creativity, and fashion sense into one to portray her iconic wardrobe and personality to the world.