This afternoon, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as New York City’s youngest mayor “in generations,” to quote Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s opening remarks at the ceremony. The 34-year-old is also the first South Asian and Muslim to take on the role, which he underscored by taking his oath with two family Qurans during both of his swearing-ins, one held privately at midnight on January 1 and a second, public one held in the afternoon at City Hall Plaza.
In his inaugural speech, Mamdani vowed to govern “expansively and audaciously,” and said that New York will not be a city “governed only by the one percent,” or “a tale of two cities, the rich versus the poor.” He was sworn in by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who thanked New York City for electing Mamdani as mayor, and reminded the crowd that his ideas are “not radical.”
And yet, Mamdani and his First Lady, 28-year-old illustrator Rama Duwaji, have broken the political mold. Not solely because of Mamdani’s perhaps not radical but inarguably progressive ideas—to, say, tax the rich or enforce a rent freeze—but also because of their ages and backgrounds, which have been underscored repeatedly by the media as cause of celebration or with Islamophobic dismay.
Mamdani was born in Uganda to Indian parents, and Duwaji in Texas to Syrian Muslim progenitors. They are young and progressive, and they also look the part. The balancing act moving forward, as it pertains to their style now that they’re embedded in the political establishment, will be to negotiate between the newfound gloss of their public image while keeping it consistent with their politics.
When Mamdani celebrated his election in November of 2025, Duwaji donned a top by London-based Palestinian-Jordanian designer Zeid Hijazi paired with a skirt by the New York-born and -based Ulla Johnson, who is known for her bohemian flair. She managed the task of looking both like a first lady and a 20-something woman dressing for a special occasion with aplomb. Back then, she had been advised—free of charge—by stylist Bailey Moon, who dresses the likes of Morgan Spector and Cristin Milioti and is most widely known for having worked with Jill Biden and her family throughout president Joe Biden’s administration.
Rama Duwaji and Zohran Mamdani on election night in November, 2025.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
