Is this New York's next first daughter of fashion? Meet headband-loving Chiara de Blasio, daughter of the city's front-running mayoral candidate
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Bill de Blasio, the front-running candidate in New York City’s mayoral election, has consistently included his family in promotional spots for his campaign. And now he is putting his stylish 19-year-old daughter, Chiara, front and center.
In a new TV advertisement released last week, Chiara responds to attack ads recently launched at her father by his republican opponent John Lhota, and also pokes fun at the attention her brother Dante received with his own campaign commercial.
But more stands out in the commercial than Chiara simply vocalizing her political beliefs. The college student’s sense of style, flush with an ethereal floral headband, oversized ear plugs, and multiple piercings, is already rendering her a focal point in fashion.
Rejoicing: Chiara de Blasio, daughter of NYC's front-running candidate for mayor, Bill de Blasio, celebrates alongside her father on the evening of the city's democratic primary race
Chiara first emerged on fashion’s radar on the evening of September’s mayoral primary election. She stood beside her father in a red crushed velvet dress, a delicate afro hairstyle, oversized gold earrings, and the now omnipresent pink rose headband.
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ShareHer outfit displayed a hippie chic-city kid sensibility—one which is rather commonplace, but nonetheless cool, among the more artistic circles in Brooklyn’s high school community, from which Chiara recently departed for college.
But even before that, she had stepped out on the campaign trail in a Solange Knowles-esque iridescent to the New York gay pride parade. She wore a long-sleeved lace dress with the same floral crown to a pre-primary rally in Brooklyn.
Her look is distinctive, and is in no way indicative of the archetype political child look, which is epitomized by one of New York City’s current reigning first children, Georgina Bloomberg.
Headbands and earrings: Are two of Chiara's favorite accessories, like the rose crown on display at left, and the hoops woven into her earlobe plugs at right
But that is why people like her. Georgina, who was 19 when her father took office eleven years ago, favors riding boots and button-up shirts reminiscent of her work as a professional equestrian.
Chiara chooses dresses, jewelry, and headbands that evoke her status as college sophomore majoring in environmental studies.
‘We are used to seeing white rich people,’ Paper magazine’s editorial director Mickey Boardman told MailOnline of the political archetype. ‘It’s nice to see someone who isn’t exactly the cookie-cutter white preppy child.’
‘It’s nice to see someone who isn’t exactly the cookie-cutter white preppy child’
Chiara hails from a family that is indicative of current New York culture in many ways. Her bi-racial family has been praised for its public progressions on numerous occasions.
The de Blasio clan marched in last spring’s New York gay pride parade after word of Chiara’s mother Chirlane’s past as a lesbian reemerged in the press. Chiara herself accompanied her father to a pre-democratic primary overnight stay in city housing projects that was attended by all of the party’s mayoral candidates.
They reside in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, a family-friendly community known for its Victorian architecture, organic food co-ops, and fair-trade coffee cafes.
The area is crowded with high-quality education establishments, and becomes a haven for kids during the after-school hours, where many decamp to their local boutiques, ice cream shops, and diners with friends.
Free spirit: Chiara wore this glittery onesie to New York's gay pride parade where she marched alongside her parents and members of the de Blasio campaign
Chiara, in many ways, is the paradigm for this child. She is Politically-minded, free-spirited, and articulate. So it’s no wonder that some tween blogs have already begun penning ‘get the look’ pieces to help their readers achieve Chiara’s signature sense of style.
According to accessories designer Venessa Arizaga, whose cooler-than-thou, ironic jewelry line retails at stores like Opening Ceremony, it’s not surprising how Chiara has already begun resonating among her savvier peers. ‘She is a role model for a lot of them. They shop in a lot of the same stores, listen to the same music, go to the same places.’
'Tween blogs have already begun penning ‘get the look’ pieces to help their readers achieve Chiara’s signature sense of style'
In fact, the flowered headband that Chiara donned on primary night, as well as in the most recent de Blasio campaign advertisement, was sourced from Urban Outfitters—the stomping ground for many style-inclined city kids.
With the exception of a minor incident in 2009, it seems that Chiara’s wardrobe has been left largely unfiltered by her father and his campaign managers. Four years ago, when Bill ran for New York City public advocate, he noticed that early mailings featured a photo of Chiara wearing a gun pendant necklace. The campaign photoshopped the necklace from future pamphlets, and Bill issued a statement saying that he had removed it from Chiara’s wardrobe as well.
Relatable fashion: Chiara's head-to-toe looks recall the mix-and-match style signature to New York City's kids, like the ruffled romper at left, and the creeper loafers at right
That photo was taken around the time that Chiara began to stretch her earlobes to accommodate large ‘plug’ decorations—ones which have been prominently on display during her father’s run for mayor. She even sometimes latches large adornments, like gold hoops and filigree earrings onto them.
'Clearly there is no team trying to make her into something she is not'
‘Clearly there is no team trying to make her into something she is not,’ said Rachel Antonoff, a New York-based designer whose hyper-feminine designs retail in stores like Isetan in Japan and Ten Over Six in Los Angeles. ‘I think that it seems like she clearly dresses for herself and that is something I imagine to continue and grow.’
Chiara’s style may not be her most important personal asset, but it does lend her an air of relatability, one which is carefully being extracted in her father’s campaign.
‘I think it’s always appealing to people when they think they can relate to something as unrelatable as a political family,’ said Antonoff.
Chiara’s visit to the voting booth for New York’s September 10 democratic primary was very first. At 19 years old, her age aligns her with an especially important bracket of voters, who more often than not (in New York City at least), tend to side with an election’s more liberal candidate (in this case, her father).
‘I think her relatability will really help her father with new voters rather than hinder the family,’ Arizaga said.
Boardman feels similarly: ‘She speaks to the young in their own language, and it’s a constituency that is really important.’
While Chiara is maintaining a low profile at present (she was unavailable to be interviewed for this piece due to school commitments), that may soon be changing.
Says Boardman: ‘In a way when you elect a mayor, you elect a whole family. I definitely think both children will be front and center.’
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