The empress has no clothes
Ivanka shuts down her fashion line
It's the end of the line for Ivanka Trump.
The First Daughter's eponymous clothing line is being taken out of production and staffers will soon be cut loose.
The 36-year-old businesswoman's brand has been under fire since Donald Trump was elected to the presidency in 2016 despite the last-minute emergence of an audio tape in which he infamously brags about grabbing women “by the p---y.”
That inspired the popular #grabyourwallet movement, founded in the days leading up to the election, which urged consumers to boycott retailers that carry the Trump label. Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom stopped carrying Trump's clothing and accessories last year, with the latter citing “brand performance.” Retailers including Gilt and Jet.com reportedly stopped carrying her merchandise, too.
None of that seemed to hurt the brand in the short term, according to G 111 Apparel, which makes the clothing and reported a 61% increase in annual revenue in their fiscal period ending Jan. 31, 2017. According to style site Racked.com, company growth even saw a spike in February, but that was followed by a five-month plummet that left Trump's company growth down “1% relative to the year prior” by August.
Like her father, Trump was quick to declare victory in a statement Tuesday celebrating the brand's successes.
“When we first started this brand, no one could have predicted the success that we would achieve. After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners,” Trump said through a spokesman.
Trump herself came under pressure last month when a White House ethics filing revealed she and her husband Jared Kushner – both White House advisers – earned at least $82 million last year. According to The New York Times, that figure could be as high as $210 million.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington approved of Trump's brand going out of business and called it a good start.
“While this is a notable step in the right direction, it's a small one that comes much too late,” according to CREW's executive director, Noah Bookbinder. “The ethics issues that arise from her ownership of the Ivanka Trump brand also arise from her ownership stake in the Trump Organization, and still more issues arise from her father's ownership of that business.
“If the Trump family truly cared about ethics, they would fully divest themselves of these assets – something they should have done before they entered the White House,” he said.