HOW FASHION BRANDS CAN SURVIVE THE 2024 US ELECTION MINEFIELD
The Business of Fashion: Few companies see an upside in wading into what’s shaping up to be a long, toxic campaign. But after years of socially conscious messaging they can’t fully disengage either.
“Make America Ferrera Again.”
In 2016, when Rebecca Minkoff debuted a T-shirt emblazoned with that phrase — a play on America Ferrera’s name and Donald Trump’s slogan — it “didn’t feel like a risk,” the designer said. The actress and designer posed in the tees at Minkoff’s Manhattan boutique; Allure dubbed the collaboration “amazing” in an October 2016 headline.
Needles to say, Minkoff isn’t planning any Trump-themed novelty T-shirts this year.
“We’re seeing a big shift right now in sentiment in terms of what everyone thought was the right platform,” Minkoff said. “[The T-shirt] felt right at the time … And I’m not saying I feel wrong about it at all ... but I’m of the mindset that people and things can change and shift as times change and shift.”
As the presidential primaries ramp up — or more likely, wind down after Trump’s thumping of his opponents in the Iowa caucuses last week — Minkoff isn’t the only one inside the fashion industry who plans to tread gingerly around politics this time around.
Politically outspoken designers like Minkoff and corporate behemoths like Nike have for years used progressive stances on hot-button issues to connect with consumers. But a conservative backlash and signs of audience fatigue around such messaging has raised the risk for engaging with topics like inclusivity, climate change and LGBTQ rights. A funny T-shirt is less likely to score points with young fashionistas, and more likely to trigger unfavourable coverage on Fox News and a boycott.
This year is shaping up to be particularly toxic, politically. Few brands see an upside in wading into the debate around the war in Gaza, where opinions don’t fall along predictable red-blue lines. And they’re especially wary of getting swept up in the US presidential election — a likely showdown between Trump and the equally unpopular incumbent, Joe Biden — where both camps will be looking to tear down symbols of the other side, whether it’s a campaign poster or a Nike swoosh.
“In the past, there were a lot of headlines that you could incorporate that were fresh and newer and safer,” said Stacey Widlitz, founder of SW Retail Advisors, a retail business consultancy. “This year, it feels, if you make a comment, it’s very polarising. And for larger brands, especially, you have to consider what is the upside if that goes wrong?”
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