Propelled into global stardom during her spellbinding spoken-word performance at the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, 23-year-old Amanda Gorman talks to PORTER about her recital of The Hill We Climb becoming a defining moment of 2021; how her life has changed since that day; and her experience of landing one of the biggest fashion gigs of the year – being asked to co-chair the Met Gala, alongside Billie Eilish, Timothée Chalamet and Naomi Osaka. 

On her inauguration performance of The Hill We Climb – a pertinent poem about triumph and justice, Gorman recalls: “It was a very limited crowd, I looked down and it was a little over a hundred people spaced out. So although it was something that was being globally received, it still felt like a traditional poetry reading. I remember stepping up and hearing the applause and, to my ears, it just sounded like a living room. It felt like I was getting up to recite for family.”

Despite Oprah Winfrey forewarning her that “this moment will change your life”, Gorman admits she was still surprised by the attention afterwards. “I had a bet with one of my friends about how many new followers I might get. I was like, ‘a hundred thousand max’. I looked afterwards and it was millions.”

On becoming a style icon overnight thanks to the sunshine-yellow Prada coat and silky red headband she wore on stage for the performance, Gorman says: “I love playing with ways in which I can celebrate my Black heritage through fashion, so I made the intentional choice to wear my hair natural, to wear braids, to wear a headband as a point of pride.” On her everyday sartorial style, she adds: “I love clothing that feels young and vibrant and hopeful, but also thoughtful and pensive.”

Now set to co-chair the Met Gala 2021 – one of the biggest fashion gigs of the year – Gorman reveals that receiving the invitation felt like “Cinderella going to the ball. Anna Wintour took the time to ask me over Zoom; I was not expecting that at all.” 

She will be co-chairing alongside Billie Eilish, Timothée Chalamet and Naomi Osaka, which she explains “feels like being a freshman at a party with seniors. You know? Like I just arrived here. My life has changed quite recently and they are all at the top of their game, and so I’m just absorbing what it means to be able to stand beside their greatness.” Gorman says they’ve all been so kind that she feels a strong sense of camaraderie. “There is something unifying in us being young and fresh-faced but, at the same time, we have become somewhat emblematic of our industries. We are the new generation – and you’d better watch out.”

She feels that her invite is “really groundbreaking”, as she believes the connection between fashion and poetry has previously been overlooked. “I’m even more enthusiastic to see all the other writers and poets who may grace that red carpet in the future. And I hope that, when you see my look, you can feel what I’m saying loud and clear.”

Gorman credits her family as her rock – “they keep me grounded” – and describes her twin sister, Gabrielle, a film-maker, as “smart and creative”. Raised by their mother Joan Wicks, a sixth-grade English teacher, Gorman says they were both creative from childhood. “My poor mom would often come into the living room and it would just be a mess.”

Gorman graduated from Harvard amid the pandemic last year, and while she’s sad not to have attended the ceremony in person, she remains grateful for her college experience. “I didn’t get the opportunity to graduate in person, which certainly was a loss. I was looking forward to having that moment with my family and my friends and my educators… I’m just still so grateful for the opportunity that I got to go to college and study what I love. I’m still best friends with my roommates to this day.”

Gorman is now preparing for the launch of her upcoming children’s book, Change Sings (out in September), of which she says: “I felt that children in this country, and in the world, really needed language by which to process what has just happened to us over the past few years – and that was even before I knew that the pandemic was coming. I just wanted families and guardians and children to have a narrative and a story that could function as an anthem for them.”

Change Sings will be followed by her poetry collection The Hill We Climb (out in December), which has been “no pun intended, a hill to climb… I’m experiencing a tectonic shift in my own world. I have to express my ideas while I’m still living the fog of my life changing. I had no idea what that might do in terms of leaving its imprint on the collection.” 

Reflecting on her new-found celebrity status, Gorman feels that the most striking change for her is the lack of anonymity. “I think so often writers are not only used to, but dependent on the sensation that we can go out amongst life and not cause any ripples. That we can watch and observe nature or humanity and that we will be an unrecognized piece of it, and we can write that in our stories. [Now], if I go to a bench or park and bring my journal to write, you can bet people are going to say, ‘I think that’s Amanda Gorman’.” She summarizes: “Finding out how to be a fly on the wall, when I’ve actually become the bull in the china shop, is new.”

On whether she still dreams of becoming a future US president, as her Instagram bio used to say, she shares: “When I went to college, a lot of people expected me to study English. In fact, I studied sociology to learn about institutions. I wanted to learn about modes of government. I wanted to also specifically study what are the ways in which movement has successfully influenced the powers and politicians that be.”

But her plans right now are to inspire change and start conversations through her writing, first and foremost. “Before I think, ‘Should I run for office or should I do this campaign?’ it starts for me with sitting down and writing the questions. What is it about this office that needs to be changed? What institutions need to be revitalized? And then communicating that through poetry… because I think that’s where the impetus for transformation is first named.”

For PORTER’s shoot, Amanda Gorman was photographed by Kennedi Carter and styled by Jason Bolden, wearing Emilia Wickstead, Kenneth Ize, Thebe Magugu, LaPointe, Mateo, Khiry Fine and more. All items can be purchased straight from the shoot via the NET-A-PORTER app, available on Android as well as iPhone and iPad, and through NET-A-PORTER.com.

Interview highlights:

Amanda Gorman on her performance of The Hill We Climb at the inauguration: “It was a very limited crowd, I looked down and it was a little over a hundred people spaced out. So although it was something that was being globally received, it still felt like a traditional poetry reading. I remember stepping up and hearing the applause and, to my ears, it just sounded like a living room. It felt like I was getting up to recite for family.”

Amanda Gorman on the attention she received after the performance: “I had a bet with one of my friends about how many new followers I might get. I was like, ‘a hundred thousand max’. I looked afterwards and it was millions.”

Amanda Gorman on being the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate: “I think having a space in which [the youth voice] can have a microphone and conversation with literature in the world is phenomenal.”

Amanda Gorman on being asked by Anna Wintour to co-chair the Met Gala: “The closest analogy is feeling like Cinderella going to the ball… Anna Wintour took the time to ask me over Zoom; I was not expecting that at all.” 

Amanda Gorman on co-chairing the Met Gala alongside Billie Eilish, Timothée Chalamet and Naomi Osaka: “It feels like being a freshman at a party with seniors. You know? Like I just arrived here. My life has changed quite recently and they are all at the top of their game, and so I’m just absorbing what it means to be able to stand beside their greatness.” 

Amanda Gorman on the camaraderie of co-chairing the Met Gala: “There is something unifying in us being young and fresh-faced but, at the same time, we have become somewhat emblematic of our industries. We are the new generation – and you’d better watch out.” 

Amanda Gorman on the connection between fashion and poetry previously being overlooked: “I think this is really groundbreaking. I’m even more enthusiastic to see all the other writers and poets who may grace that red carpet in the future. And I hope that, when you see my look, you can feel what I’m saying loud and clear.”

Amanda Gorman on graduating amid the pandemic last year: “I didn’t get the opportunity to graduate in person, which certainly was a loss. I was looking forward to having that moment with my family and my friends and my educators… I’m just still so grateful for the opportunity that I got to go to college and study what I love. I’m still best friends with my roommates to this day.”

Amanda Gorman on her upcoming children’s book, Change Sings (out in September): “I felt that children in this country, and in the world, really needed language by which to process what has just happened to us over the past few years – and that was even before I knew that the pandemic was coming. I just wanted families and guardians and children to have a narrative and a story that could function as an anthem for them.”

Amanda Gorman on her upcoming poetry collection, The Hill We Climb (out in December): “[It was] no pun intended, a hill to climb. I’m experiencing a tectonic shift in my own world. I have to express my ideas while I’m still living the fog of my life changing. I had no idea what that might do in terms of leaving its imprint on the collection.” 

Amanda Gorman on her English classes growing up: “They always told us there are a few purposes for writing. It can describe, it can inform and it can persuade. I think that the intention of my writing is to empathize.” 

Amanda Gorman on viewing poetry as a verb instead of a noun: “I often call it ‘poeting’ because, for me, it is to get involved in a movement. I think back to Audre Lorde, who was so wise in saying that it’s the poets who create a language for pains, emotions and solutions.”

Amanda Gorman on becoming a style icon following the inauguration: “I love playing with ways in which I can celebrate my Black heritage through fashion, so I made the intentional choice to wear my hair natural, to wear braids, to wear a headband as a point of pride.” 

Amanda Gorman on trying to describe her style: “It’s like describing your own voice… But, if I had to describe my style, I would say that it’s how I feel on the inside. I love clothing that feels young and vibrant and hopeful, but also thoughtful and pensive.”

Amanda Gorman on studying sociology at Harvard: “When I went to college, a lot of people expected me to study English. In fact, I studied sociology to learn about institutions… I wanted to learn about modes of government. I wanted to also specifically study what are the ways in which movement has successfully influenced the powers and politicians that be.”

Amanda Gorman on whether she still dreams of becoming US president: “Before I think, ‘Should I run for office or should I do this campaign?’ it starts for me with sitting down and writing the questions. What is it about this office that needs to be changed? What institutions need to be revitalized? And then communicating that through poetry… because I think that’s where the impetus for transformation is first named.”

Amanda Gorman on her new-found celebrity status:“I think so often writers are not only used to, but dependent on the sensation that we can go out amongst life and not cause any ripples. That we can watch and observe nature or humanity and that we will be an unrecognized piece of it, and we can write that in our stories. [Now], if I go to a bench or park and bring my journal to write, you can bet people are going to say, ‘I think that’s Amanda Gorman’… Finding out how to be a fly on the wall, when I’ve actually become the bull in the china shop, is new.”

To see the full interview, read PORTER at net-a-porter.com and/or download the NET-A-PORTER app for iPhone, iPad and Android.

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