Zohran Mamdani wears Assamese eri silk for mayoral oath alongside Rama Duwaji: All you need to know

Zohran Mamdani wears Assamese eri silk for mayoral oath alongside Rama Duwaji: What it signifies

Inaugurations are often remembered for speeches and symbolism, but when Zohran Kwame Mamdani took the oath as the 112th mayor of New York on New Year’s Eve, it was a subtle sartorial choice that drew attention far beyond City Hall. His understated look carried a deeper cultural message, turning a ceremonial detail into a moment of quiet self-definition.

At the centre of Mamdani’s outfit was a dark grey herringbone tie made from eri silk, a hand-spun fabric native to Assam and parts of Northeast India. Often called “peace silk,” eri is known for its durability, warmth, and ethical production.

Unlike glossy mulberry silk, eri has a matte texture and heavier weave, traditionally used for everyday garments rather than display. The tie featured delicate four-petalled floral embroidery in gold, adding detail without excess.

The custom piece was designed by Delhi-based luxury menswear label Kartik Research. Rather than overt symbolism, the tie relied on material and craft to tell its story. In doing so, it brought a lesser-seen Indian textile, shaped by generations of women weavers, into the heart of American civic life.

The choice felt deliberate. A fabric rooted in Assam’s artisanal traditions found space within a global, immigrant-driven city that Mamdani now leads. In an era when political dressing often defaults to neutrality, the tie stood out precisely because it was restrained.

Craft, labour and continuity

Eri silk is produced using open-ended cocoons that allow the moth to emerge naturally, earning it the label of non-violent silk. Its production remains decentralised and labour-intensive, relying largely on women who spin and weave the fabric using skills passed down over generations. The process values patience and precision over industrial speed, embedding care and continuity into the textile itself.

For decades, eri silk has remained outside mainstream luxury fashion, overshadowed by more polished Indian silks. Mamdani’s inauguration moment offered the fabric rare global visibility, not as a costume, but as a lived craft.

Kartik Research’s modern translation

Founded in 2021 by designer Kartik Kumra, Kartik Research has emerged as a key name in contemporary Indian menswear. The label gained international attention after Kumra became a semi-finalist at the 2023 LVMH Prize and debuted at Paris Men’s Fashion Week with a collection titled How To Make In India. Its designs are known for translating Indian craftsmanship into modern silhouettes without flattening their cultural origins.

The four-petalled floral motif on Mamdani’s tie reflects this approach. In Assamese textiles, such patterns are not meant to dominate but to exist through repetition and rhythm. Their presence here functioned as a quiet nod rather than a declaration.

Style as identity

Fashion editor and stylist Gabriela Karefa-Johnson curated the inauguration looks for Mamdani and his wife, artist Rama Duwaji. Mamdani paired the statement tie with a black velvet suit and white shirt, while Duwaji wore an archival asymmetrical Balenciaga coat with sculptural gold jewellery. At the public ceremony the following day, the couple again coordinated understated yet intentional looks.

For Mamdani, the first immigrant-born mayor of New York with roots in Uganda and India, fashion has rarely been about spectacle. His eri silk tie was a reminder that representation can live in the smallest details, carrying stories of labour, heritage, and identity into spaces of power without raising its voice.