This is like the classiest way to frame a fail. pic.twitter.com/hQhOxAXJr9
— Schooley (@Rschooley) July 24, 2018
Robin Givhan, Washington Post fashion expert: STOP TRYING TO MAKE ‘TRUMP STYLE’ HAPPEN! IT’S NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!……
… The womenswear brand, founded in 2011, was built around the public persona of Ivanka: the tall, blonde corporate executive with the famous last name, a mother of three with a lifestyle glamorously — no, adorably — curated for Instagram. The label was aimed at young, white-collar working women, and so the collections were filled with sheath dresses, simple silhouettes in feminine floral prints and office-ready shoes. There was nothing particularly unique about the products. Indeed, the company was accused of knocking off other brands. But there was nothing wrong with the clothes, either. And that, along with the price and the marketing, was what made them sell…
The gloss peeled away when Ivanka, the daughter, came to Washington as an adviser to her father, the president, who said he wanted to put America first and who touted the importance of manufacturing in the United States. Because her brand was no mere vanity project, and making money was the point, her name was licensed to manufacturers, who did the work overseas, where labor was cheap. Business wasn’t pretty, but it was profitable. In 2017, she published a book offering women advice on how to be their own best advocates and fight for their interests in the workplace, while the company that bore her name failed to offer the kind of work-life benefits that her book was telling women that they deserved.
Politics, with all of its hot air and bluster, made Ivanka Trump a walking contradiction. By extension it made her company’s sins plain. Shoppers boycotted it. Social media trolls attacked it. Department stores dropped the brand…
Intertwined with the fashion narrative of tasteful work attire, accessible pricing and woman-friendly rhetoric was the political story line. She was supposed to be the gleaming beacon for women in the new administration, the voice of the family, the Trump-whisperer. It’s hard to say which made people angrier: the fashion company that shunned American workers or the company’s founder who disappointed a contingent of American voters.
Ultimately, the two grievances became one. And a fashion lie became a political one.
Interesting timing… Ivanka imported most of her stuff from China. She’s shutting down as her father ramps up tariffs against China. https://t.co/e6998rsrMZ
— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) July 24, 2018
Vanity Fair, infotainment generalist, is more jaded — “She’s Not Going Anywhere“:
Shifting Fashions Open Thread: Ivanka Trump Will Not Be MissedPost + Comments (147)