New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rama Duwaji Matched in Sleek Black at His Swearing In

A few minutes after the ball dropped in Times Square, signaling the beginning of 2026, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the new mayor of New York City in an abandoned subway station near City Hall. For the intimate ceremony, which included a smattering of reporters and his close family members, the mayor chose a black velvet suit with a long, slim-fitting jacket, paired with a classic white shirt. The special detail came in his herringbone necktie—delicately embroidered in gold with four, four-petal flowers—from Kartik Research, the four-year old label founded by New Delhi-based designer Kartik Kumra, who was a semi-finalist for the LMVH Prize in 2023.

A close-up look at Mayor Mamdani’s embroidered tie.

Photo: Getty Images

His wife, the artist Rama Duwaji, also made a statement in her matching asymmetrical, funnel-neck wool coat (vintage Balenciaga, borrowed from Albright Fashion Library); groovy, wide-leg shorts from The Frankie Shop; and pointy-toed boots with a lace-up detail at the back from Miista, proving the first lady’s Gen Z fashion bona fides.

Duwaji has already shown a love for bold gold jewelry, and the midnight ceremony proved the perfect occasion for it. She accessorized her black separates with vintage sculptural earrings from New York Vintage and a wristful of gold bracelets.

Mayor Mamdani was sworn in by Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, and accompanied by his wife, Rama Duwaji, who held two Qurans: one belonging to the mayor’s grandfather, the other from the collection of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem.

Photo: Getty Images