Who is the wife of Zohran Mamdani, the new fashion icon on social media?

BarcelonaDuring her husband's election campaign –the newly elected mayor of New York, Zohran MamdaniRama Duwaji has preferred to stay out of the spotlight. She declined interview requests and opted to attend few public events, even skipping the election debate. Even so, this 28-year-old artist has not been able to avoid attracting the attention of both the mainstream press and the fashion press, which have already elevated her to the status of a style icon.

Duwaji exudes a sophistication that seems to arise naturally, without external impositions. first lady New York City's youngest mayor knows that the clothes she wears can be loaded with meaning. She proved it on election night: she chose a black embroidered top by Palestinian designer Zeid Jijazi and a skirt midi The black velvet dress was by Ulla Johnson, a New York designer who recently opened a boutique on the Upper East Side. The ensemble, which gave her a Generation Z Audrey Hepburn vibe, is a fusion of all the worlds that represent Duwaji, a young Muslim woman who champions the Palestinian cause and is a rising artist in New York, her adopted city.

Born in Texas to Syrian parents (mother is a doctor and father is a developer of softwareDuwaji spent much of her childhood and adolescence in Dubai, where her family moved when she was nine. Her love of drawing led her to study art at the University Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar. However, she completed her studies in the United States, first in Richmond, Virginia, and then in New York, where she earned a master's degree in fine arts. Duwaji's artwork, often black and white illustrations, primarily addresses issues of social justice in the Middle East and has a political dimension, as she herself has explained. "I believe everyone has a responsibility to speak out against injustices, and art has the capacity to spread these ideas. I don't think everyone has to make political art, but art is inherently political if you consider how it is made, how it is funded, and how it is distributed. For me, even creating art as a refuge from the horrors we see is political." YungDuwaji has published in magazines such as TheNew York Times, The Washington Post, Vogue and New York Magazine. In this last magazine, for example, she illustrated an article about the objects Palestinians took from their homes when fleeing Gaza.

Mamdani's wife's social media is primarily dedicated to promoting her work, as well as documenting her daily life in New York. She hasn't actively campaigned for her husband on Instagram and, in fact, hasn't posted anything related to his victory. Even so, a few months ago she uploaded a series of photo booth pictures of the two of them with the message "Couldn't be more proud." In recent days, Dujawi's Instagram following has doubled, and she now has over 600,000 followers.

A wedding on the New York subway

The story of New York's mayor-elect and his wife is a modern-day example of love. The couple met in 2021 through the dating app Hinge shortly after he was elected to the New York State Assembly. When the mayoral campaign began, Mamdani's critics accused him of hiding his partner. The politician responded by posting a series of wedding photos on Instagram with the following caption, addressed to voters: "Three months ago, I married the love of my life, Rama, in the City Clerk's office. Now, right-wing trolls are trying to make this campaign, which should be about you, revolve around her." In the same post, the now-mayor of New York reminded everyone that Dujawi is not only his wife, but also "an incredible artist who deserves to be known for herself."

The wedding photographs, taken by Kara McCurdy, who had previously collaborated with Mamdani, project an image of the couple as the epitome of New York modernity. There are no grand dresses, no spectacular cars, no fanfare: it's simply the two of them taking the subway from their neighborhood in Astoria (Queens), to City Hall. The bride wore a vintage-style white lace dress and black flat boots, which have become her signature style (she also wore them on election day). She paired the outfit with a fur coat and gold necklaces very similar to those she usually wears. Mamdani, for his part, opted for a white coffee-colored dress.

While the New York ceremony was intimate and minimalist, the party they held three months later in Uganda, Mamdani's native country, was quite the opposite. The celebration lasted for days and took place at the property owned by the new mayor's parents in an exclusive area of Kampala, the country's capital.

Duwaji's new role as New York's first lady is somewhat ambiguous, as there are no written rules and it depends somewhat on her level of involvement. According to the New York TimesClose friends of the artist say they are thrilled by her husband's rapid rise, but at the same time feel a little overwhelmed. For now, surely without her realizing it, she has already become the new object of fascination on social media. "She's the Princess Diana of our times," she asserted. New York Times Hasnain Bhatti, photographer and friend of the artist.