![]() In the mid- to late ’90s and into the aughts, the correspondents who kept tabs on the comings and goings of the area’s A-listers noted where Harris was and what she was doing and who she was with. And she learned that skill in this crowded, incestuous, famously challenging political proving ground, where she worked to score spots at the some of the city’s most sought-after tables. Harris, now 54, often has talked about the importance of having “a seat at the table,” of being an insider instead of an outsider. This stratum of San Francisco remains a profoundly important part of her network-including not just powerful Democratic donors but an ambassador appointed by President Donald Trump who ran in the same circles. In this less explored piece of her past, Harris used as a launching pad the tightly knit world of San Francisco high society, navigating early on this rarefied world of influence and opulence, charming and partying with movers and shakers-ably cultivating relationships with VIPs who would become friends and also backers and donors of every one of her political campaigns, tapping into deep pockets and becoming a popular figure in a small world dominated by a handful of powerful families. Her rise, however, was propelled in and by a very different milieu. Clockwise from left: Billy and Vanessa Getty, Sharon Owsley and Delphine Damon, Kamala harris and Chrissie Otis Norton | San Francisco Chronicle via the Library of Congress Images from the Getty wedding in Napa Valley that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on June, 21, 1999. As a presidential contender, running against opponents who openly disdain elites and big money, she has emphasized not only her reputation as a take-no-prisoners prosecutor but also the humbleness of her roots-a child of civil rights activism, of busing, “so proud,” as she said at the start of her speech announcing her candidacy, “to be a child of Oakland.” In Pacific Heights parlors and bastions of status and wealth, in trendy hot spots, and in the juicy, dishy missives of the variety of gossip columns that chronicled the city’s elite, Kamala Harris was a boldface name.īorn and raised in more diverse, far less affluent neighborhoods on the other side of the Bay, Harris was the oldest daughter of immigrant parents, reared in a family that was intellectual but not privileged or rich. From 1994, when she was introduced splashily in the region’s most popular newspaper column as the paramour of one of the state’s most powerful politicians, to 2003, when she was elected district attorney, the Oakland- and Berkeley-bred Harris charted the beginnings of her ascent in the more fashionable crucible of San Francisco. Well before she was a United States senator, or the attorney general of California, Harris was already in with the in-crowd here. We need people who are different who can bring something new and exciting into our city.” Coming from someone who has done exactly just that, it’s an enthusiastic invitation to a fun relay towards the top of the fashion world.“Kamala Harris,” the caption read, “cruised through the reception.” “Younger people can’t afford to go to Chanel to buy their outfits, so they create from what’s affordable. The most fashionable people in the city, according to Molodetskaya, are its students. You can wear sequins to breakfast! Why not?! The one who dares, lives,” she quips. Case in point, the recent April’s Fool video from H&M poking fun at Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s look of t-shirt and jeans as a de facto uniform across the Silicon Valley. Molodetskaya often points out that San Francisco is actually a very conservative city when it comes to style, despite its progressive politics. Her Calvin Klein workout clothes are sitting in the closet with the tags still on them, patiently awaiting an occasional visit to “an exercise facility,” as she puts it. No Lululemon for Molodetskaya, spasibo! (That's 'thanks' in Russian). One thing she does not sport, however, is athletic wear. She is very supportive of a few local designers, including Vasily Vein, whom dressed Molodetskaya for many red carpets around town resulting in as many SF Chronicle Style mentions. In the same spirit, she doesn’t have a favorite couture designer, opting to mix Zara with Dior in a way very few people can pull off. “You dress interestingly so people check you out and you check people out.” It keeps the atmosphere friendly and fun. Her favorite place for business and casual meetings is the bar at the Four Seasons Hotel or a downtown San Francisco Greek restaurant called Kokkari. Sonya Molodetskaya exclusively for Stephan Rabimov on Forbes.
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