MINNEAPOLIS — On normal days in Washington D.C., office wear reigns supreme. However, the city of sensible suits dressed up for Inauguration Day.
"I thought they were so classy," Samantha Rei said.
Rei is a Minneapolis fashion designer who was featured on Project Runway in 2017. "Just classy and classic with kind of an adventurous twist."
Rei said she watched the inauguration with a group of fashion-minded friends on a group chat.
Politics aside, who decided to wear what was inevitably a big topic.
"What Dr. Jill was wearing was so classy - and just the little sparkles - and I feel like a lot of times sparkles like that can skew young, but it didn't," Rei said. "It looked sophisticated, and a touch of fur - it was beautiful."
When asked what she tells people who claim that fashion is frivolous, Rei said fashion is the first impression before the first impression.
"Your fashion is your voice before you open your mouth," she said. "There's nothing wrong with being comfortable, like Bernie - he was just comfortable grandpa, but that shows that you're comfortable. You're there to do your job and that's fine."
And the statements that come from high places, was that American designers are celebrated. Joe Biden rocked a Ralph Lauren suit.
Young Black designers were also highlighted by pioneers like Vice President Kamala Harris and Former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Harris wore shoes by Sergio Hudson while Mrs. Obama wore an outfit by the same designer. Hudson is a designer from South Carolina.
VP Harris also wore a Christopher John Rogers dress. Rogers is another Black designer from Baton Rouge.
The showcasing of rising talent on a big international stage only helps break the outdated and inaccurate concept that high fashion can only come from certain places.
"It's the Coco Chanel, the Gianni Versace, it's a certain type of designer," Rei said. "A lot of people don't really think of different races, different locations in the U.S. They think Europe, New York - they don't think down South or the Midwest, and there are so many so many designers."
For Rei - in this new administration - is a ray of hope for the arts.
"The fact that we saw a poet being showcased at the inauguration, to me, shows like a return to art, and I want to see more of that," she said.