When John F. Kennedy won the presidential election in 1960, something had to be done about Jackie. His clotheshorse wife, famous for her elegant Givenchy and Balenciaga outfits, was drawing ire for her love of Parisian designers. It’s unpatriotic, critics sniffed. So her father-in-law, patriarch Joseph Kennedy Sr., took matters into his own hands and suggested that his golf buddy Oleg Cassini make her gowns—in the United States of America.

From then on, Jackie Kennedy and Cassini struck fashion gold. Never mind that Jackie’s political wardrobe was mostly careful copies of European designers created by a Russian aristocrat educated in Italy. The clothes were perceived as American, which appeased the public. (Not everyone believed that Kennedy’s wardrobe was fully American. Women’s Wear Daily editor John Fairchild, who had a real bee in his bonnet about Jackie’s choice of designers, said at the time: “She always wanted the best of everything.”)

A generation later, Kamala Harris is displaying her own predilection for rarefied French designers including Dior and Chloé. The vice president and Democratic presidential candidate, who has frequently chosen American designers during her political tenure, is leaning hard into Parisian tailoring for the most pivotal season of her career. She’s no mere first lady; she could be president. But, over 60 years after Jackie was pilloried for her choices, does it even matter whether Harris wears American designers?

Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrives on stage at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Phoenix Awards dinner at Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, U.S., September 14, 2024. REUTERS/Bonnie Cash

At this week’s debate, the vice president wore a black Dior suit from the LVMH brand’s 30 Montaigne line, which reinterprets brand classics like the structured “bar” blazer. In late August, Harris chose two suits by French brand Chloé on pivotal nights of the Democratic National Convention: first a bespoke tan wool suit and white blouse, then a navy wool suit and matching blouse to accept the nomination for president. Notable: Both brands are designed by rare female creative directors, Maria Grazia Chiuri for Dior and newbie Chemena Kamali at Chloé. Harris’s team did not respond to requests for comment.

The first female vice president, and only the second woman from a major political party to be nominated for president, is in a unique position. With so little precedent, her wardrobe is typically compared with fellow presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, as well as high-profile first ladies from Kennedy to Michelle Obama.

But these days, her true peers are men. Her predecessor, Joe Biden, stuck mostly to a basic script of American designers including Ralph Lauren (as did his wife Jill Biden, who recently attended the Ralph Lauren show in the Hamptons). And her rival Donald Trump is known for his love of suits by Brioni, the Kering-owned Italian brand.

In recent years, Harris’s sleek, effective courtroom-honed style is designed to let the woman, not the clothes, do the talking. Her emphasis on suits—rather than the fitted power dresses favored by former presidential candidate Nikki Haley or Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi—signifies practicality over traditional femininity.

Jacqueline Kennedy after State Dinner, 22 May 1962 White House, Cross Hall. / Wikimedia Commons

Since Biden stepped down in August and Harris was thrust into the spotlight as the Democratic nominee, her fashion has been refined to an even cleaner, sharper point: dark suits, blouses, 70-millimeter Manolo Blahnik pumps. Most say it’s the work of no-nonsense Hollywood stylist Leslie Fremar, who’s styled the likes of Charlize Theron. Fremar’s representatives declined to comment.

Harris’s style has been so streamlined and consistent that any aberration in its formula is noteworthy. Her looks as vice president have usually been low-key enough that they haven’t garnered press releases and fashion credits. She’s worn quiet suits by American designers like Carolina Herrera and workingwoman direct-to-consumer brand Argent. The carefully orchestrated press releases from Dior and Chloé signify a new chapter.

It’s also entirely possible that Harris and her team just feel that Dior and Chloé make the best fitting suits at the moment; not every move must be interpreted for its patriotism.

“I think [Harris’s fashion] signifies the true globalization of the fashion industry,” said Deirdre Clemente, a history professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who’s written extensively about presidential style. Clemente said Harris was giving priority to the precision of her image over strictly hewing to American designers only.

Could Harris find suits of this caliber by American brands? Sure. Joseph Altuzarra cuts a mean suit, and Harris has worn them in the past. Ralph Lauren would be a natural choice, although perhaps Harris wishes to distance herself from Joe and Jill Biden’s designer of choice. Proenza Schouler makes suits, perhaps on the edgy side for a presidential candidate. (Harris’s stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, has modeled for the brand.) Thom Browne, if freed from some of his more precious ribbon detailing, could do it. Some more outside-of-the-box ideas might be queer, woman-owned downtown brand Kallmeyer, known for its affordable and cool slouchy suiting, or the functional and sustainably-minded Maria Moscone.

But Clemente posited that younger voters don’t look at fashion in the territorial way Americans did 100 years ago. “Fashion is a global thing for them. They order stuff from Shein.”

Beverly Hallberg, the president of Washington media coaching firm District Media Group who works often with politicians, said there was a generational shift in ideas about fashion brands’ nationalities. “I don’t think it strikes people as politically incorrect as it would have in decades past,” she said of Harris’s French suits. She said that because of the recent Parisian Olympics, it might make her look “current.”

Even if wearing French designers doesn’t hurt Harris, when she does take the opportunity to support American designers, it makes a huge difference to their visibility and their businesses. Harris’s unwavering commitment to Irene Neuwirth’s pearls and other jewelry has been a boon to the Los Angeles-based brand. At Biden’s inauguration events in 2021, she boosted three Black American designers: Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss, Christopher John Rogers and Sergio Hudson.

One need only look to the Obama administration for a contemporary and patriotic use of fashion. President Obama often wore suits by Brooklyn tailor Martin Greenfield , and an affordable watch by Detroit upstart Shinola. Michelle Obama was a walking advertisement for accessible-yet-cool Jenna Lyons-era J.Crew, and made young American designers like Jason Wu household names.

As for whether Harris’s style choices could sway voters, Hallberg has her doubts. “I’m sure the Trump voters would say they hate [what she wears],” she said. “I’m sure the Kamala voters would say they love it. And the people in the middle probably don’t even know what she wore.”

Write to Rory Satran at rory.satran@wsj.com