Ella Emhoff, stepdaughter of Vice President Kamala Harris and daughter of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, is navigating her new “icon” status.

The 21-year-old spoke exclusively with PEOPLE at the 2022 Harper’s Bazaar Icons & Bloomingdale’s 150th Anniversary party on Friday. Ella was named an icon by the magazine, meaning she is a young person who is making an impact on the world through their ideas and their art.

Emhoff told PEOPLE she is surprised by the honor, and is taking it seriously.

“It’s kind of shocking,” she said. “This is an incredible honor and as someone who doesn’t really think of herself like that it’s nice reassurance. And makes me check myself and the way I perceive myself, so exciting.”

Even so, Emhoff said it isn’t quite sinking in that she is a fashion inspiration.

“I do understand the position and it’s so exciting, and I’m so grateful,” she explained. “But for some reason, I feel like I’m seeing myself from the outside, like it’s a very interesting experience that I will never forget. And it’s exciting. I feel like every day it sinks in a little more. It’s a slow process.”

Emhoff said she wants to work with people she finds inspiring in the moment, saying that she doesn’t have a specific goal for her fashion career.

“So what I like now could be completely different from what I like next season,” Emhoff said. “So I just like the process and the journey of it, and I’ve already got to walk for so many great designers like Miu Miu,…