Like most of New York, Rama Duwaji was up early in her Knicks gear, celebrating the team’s historic championship win — their first in 53 years — at the “Keys to the City” ceremony in front of City Hall Plaza on Thursday.
Rama Duwaji and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attend a championship celebration and Key to the City ceremony at City Hall Plaza after a ticker-tape parade.
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As with any public outing, Duwaji took it upon herself to raise the fashion bar, styling an upcycled dress by custom couturier Claire Sullivan. The one-of-a-kind piece stitched three Knicks NBA Finals shirts into one article, with a blue and an orange shirt forming a draped miniskirt along the bottom trim. The top white T-shirt tied across her chest, crossing over right shoulder. A closer look at the back revealed a skinny tie around her back, cinching the fabric above her waist.
A closer look at Rama Duwaji’s outfit.
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Duwaji paired the lengthy top with a black bubble skirt, orange pom-pom earrings, ankle socks and a pair of Nike Air Rifts. Debuted in 1996, the Rift trainers were the first time the brand had introduced a split-toe design with its Swoosh. Otherwise referred to as “tabi toes,” the detail was inspired by Kenya’s Great Rift Valley Fault Line. In February, Nike debuted a fresh take on the shoes as part of its ongoing partnership with Skims. From afar, it was hard to tell whether Duwaji was sporting the original Nikes or the collaboration pair.
Regardless, the ensemble, top to bottom, was exactly what you’d expect the fashionable first lady to wear to a quasi-sporting event. Her hair was also in line with her signature aesthetic, styled in what’s now been dubbed the “Rama.” According to celebrity stylist Antonio Velotta, the “Rama” is “a modern precision bob” — a pithy “bixie,” if you will. “The shape is tailored with soft graduation, so it frames the face without heavy layers throughout the crown,” he previously told WWD.”
Rama Duwaji and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
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Next to her, her husband, Mayor Zohran Mamdani pumped Knicks spirit in to his own style, layering a Jalen Brunson jersey over a white collared shirt and an orange speckled tie. Over the top, he wore a navy blue suit jacket with a Knicks pin embellishing the right lapel.