Even before New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was voted in, his wife Rama Duwaji—a freelance animator and illustrator—was commanding the world's attention. Importantly, Duwaji's fashion choices have spoken volumes since day one. Her appearance at Diotima's show at fashion week—which also marks her first time attending as New York City's First Lady—is no exception.
For her appearance at Diotima's show, Duwaji—who is styled by Gabriella Karefa-Johnson—layered two trench coats. Firstly, she wore a classic short khaki trench coat as a dress, buttoned right to the top. She wore another trench coat, this time knee-length and plaid, over the top, confirming that the celeb-beloved trend is most definitely back for 2026.
Duwaji accessorized her trench coat duo with black heeled cowboy boots and a black leather bag featuring an oversize buckle clasp and a studded strap. For jewelry, the first lady opted for two pairs of gold hoop earrings—large thin hoops and small thick hoops.
Back in September 2025, Duwaji attended Diotima's very first runway show, after being personally invited by designer and founder Rachel Scott. As Scott told The New York Times, "I was intrigued by her work and personal style, so having her at the show was really exciting." Judging by Duwaji's appearance at the label's second show, it seems as though the admiration is mutual.
To date, Duwaji's intentional fashion choices have garnered much attention. For instance, when Mamdani delivered his victory speech on November 4, 2025, Duwaji wore a laser-cut denim top from Zeid Hijazi, a Palestinian-Jordanian designer based in London.
At her husband's public inauguration on January 1, 2026, the illustrator opted for a brown funnel-neck coat, which she styled as a dress, from Palestinian-Lebanese designer Cynthia Merhej's label Renaissance Renaissance. The same day, New York's first lady also wore a pair of boots from sustainability-focused, London-based shoemaker Miista.
Basically, Duwaji's relationship with the fashion world as the first lady of New York is going to be seriously exciting.
