Whatever side of the aisle you’re on, one thing is hard to deny: the rising Democratic Socialists of America have mastered the art of “vibes.” From Hizzoner Zohran Mamdani’s cheeky, charismatic campaign videos to Hasan Piker’s livestreams, the DSA has sold its gauche ideas with suave style. But its vogue fashion conceals dark messages.

At the College Democrats of America’s 2026 Summer Convention, DSA mouthpiece and streamer Hasan Piker appeared in a strikingly militaristic suit — tight collar, broad shoulders, chest pockets, small buttons running top to bottom. One online commenter summed up the reaction: “Dressed like Mao…”

The silhouette has a name: the Zhongshan suit — aka the Mao suit. It’s named after Chinese nationalist revolutionary Sun Zhongshan, and it became the standard uniform of the Chinese Communist Party. The drab, military-like cut was a real downer compared to the ornate Manchu style of dress donned by China’s past leaders. It was designed to reject both China’s history and Western influence.

Every detail of the suit carries ideological weight and symbolism. The four pockets are meant to evoke the CCP’s Four Cardinal Principles: socialism, the people’s democratic dictatorship, CCP leadership, and Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.

You can see why Piker and the rest of the DSA like the style.

This isn’t Piker’s first belligerent costume. Prone to mirror selfies and “fit checks,” narcissistic Piker has been seen in cargo shorts and button-up shirts with wannabe guerilla-fighter vibes. Throwing Fits, a menswear podcast, called this look “Champagne Socialist Final Boss.”

The utilitarian workwear look has been a signal of socialist dressing for centuries. Whether it be Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, or Fidel Castro, the sartorial sensibility has carried a clear message. Political dress has always doubled as political speech.

Few know that better than Richard Press, grandson of J. Press founder Jacobi Press and heir to a 124-year-old Ivy League tailoring house that has dressed presidents, dandies and diplomats for generations. You can spot the Kennedys and the Bushes in its seriously bespoke attire. Same with President Truman’s Secretary of State, Dean Acheson — America’s “best-dressed politician” ever, according to Press.

When asked who were some of the most consequential dressers in American politics, Press points to two presidents: FDR and heartthrob JFK.

“FDR was marvelously dressed. He expressed his background and democratic aristocracy of America at that time in history,” Press told The Post.

“Jack Kennedy represented the quintessential American Ivy League aristocracy in its most democratic way.”

A masterful politician knows how to use garb to project political signals. Every suit, pocket, button and tie communicates their principles. Press agrees.

“I don’t admire politicians who dress down in public. It demeans their own authority and legitimacy. Wearing a dress suit open without a tie doesn’t fulfill the responsibility,” Press said.

“We’re at a period where menswear fashion is at total decompression. Nobody really knows what to wear, and they often demean the message they’re trying to present by being too downscale.”

At the mayor’s events, Mamdani’s fans typically dress down, wearing T-shirts with the slogan “Hot Girls for Zohran,” a look built to combine coolness and approachability. Who doesn’t want to be in the hot-girls club?

Mamdani, meanwhile, dons an unremarkable retail Wall Street-style suit and tie, usually accessorized with a row of silver rings (ironically, a more traditional register of authority). The irony here is laughable: he wants to destroy Wall Street while wearing its uniform.

O.W. Root, the writer of the menswear Substack “The Fitting Room, told The Post that Zohran’s jackets “have a soft shoulder, which communicates approachability and strikes a more informal stance, which is, also, of course, more accessible to a public that never wears a suit.

“There are many things to detest about Mamdani, but his jackets aren’t one of them.”

Compare this to President Trump, who uses his broad, bespoke Italian Brioni suits to send his own message.

“Trump’s suits have a firmer, more structured shoulder which communicates the kind of strength Trump wants.”

Mamdani does dress down on occasion. But rather than catching him in streetwear, you’ll see him clad in a traditional South Asian tunic, kurta, or very high-neck suit with mandarin collars. Usually paired with pajama-style straight pants, called a churidar — a South-Asian Muslim look Mamdani was even married in.

The rest of the DSA and its fellow travelers are equally deliberate, if not always as subtle. Remember AOC’s MET Gala dress, a white gown with “TAX THE RICH” emblazoned on the back in blood-red? That’s the only dress many people can recall from the gala. The new socialists know how to make a statement, and what they wear is just one part of it.

Isabella Redjai is the Senior Social Media Producer at The Free Press @IsabellaRedjai.