Ivanka Trump is back in the news, but not for her new controversial position under her father’s administration.
According to Business of Fashion, the Ivanka licenser G-III relabeled her brand’s merchandise as “Adrienne Vittadini Studio” without the brand’s knowledge. Adrienne Vittadini is a preexisting womenswear brand. G-III sold the line under the new name to retail chain Stein Mart that has “290 stores in 31 states, everywhere from Little Rock, Arkansas to Madison, Wisconsin.”
G-III issued a statement confirming the action and taking responsibility:
G-III accepts responsibility for resolving this issue, which occurred without the knowledge or consent of the Ivanka Trump organization. G-III has already begun to take corrective actions, including facilitating the immediate removal of any mistakenly labeled merchandise from its customer. The Ivanka Trump brand continues to grow and remains very strong.
The Ivanka Trump brand continues to grow and remain strong? Then why did they change the name on merchandise that wasn’t selling? Ivanka’s brand began to go downhill after Trump made his wildly misogynist remarks on an Access Hollywood tape. Nordstrom recently dropped her brand reportedly due to poor sales. It’s also reportedly due to a consumer boycott started after the Access Hollywood tapes were released. Ivanka has also been mocked on Saturday Night Live/SNL for being “complicit” as a woman not speaking out against her father’s blatant and admitted sexual abuse.
Apparently, rebranding is legal — though some would question as to whether it’s ethical.
“US textile product labeling laws allow substitution of labels, so long as the entity making the substitution is identified on the new label and keeps records for three years,” explained Susan Scafidi, professor of fashion law at Fordham Law School and founder of the Fashion Law Institute. “This is mostly for supply chain tracking reasons. All of the other required information on the label — fibre content, country of origin, etcetera — must be maintained.”
Stein Mart’s Chief Executive D. Hunt Hawkins told Business of Fashion that its choice to stock the renamed Trump product was not political, “I’ve had an equal number of [customers] say that they don’t want and do want [the Ivanka Trump merchandise] in the store.” Sounds like someone is trying to save his company’s a$$-ets.
There are still questions as to why G-III would take such actions. Fashionista reports:
Though the motivations behind G-III’s actions are unknown, BoF reports that, per a source within Stein Mart, customers had been supplying negative feedback regarding the line; the source recounted “one customer spitting on a blouse in front of a cashier before storming out of a store.”
Special thanks to Robin Romans for helping to report on this story. Romans also claims she spoke with Neiman Marcus manager who confirmed that some of Ivanka’s jewelry has been changed to “Madison Avenue Diamond, LLC.” I am currently in contact with Neiman Marcus’s corporate communications office awaiting a confirmation — and will report back with their answer.
Either way, Stein Mart and G-III have already confirmed the rebranding of Ivanka merchandise. This doesn’t say much for Ivanka’s business savvy when her brand has to be masked in order for merchandisers to sell what’s left. And it doesn’t say much for the name “Trump,” but most of the country already knows that.
Related:
Nordstrom officially drops Ivanka Trump brand due to a ‘decline in sales’ following boycott
Ivanka Trump’s Hiring: Another Case Of Trump’s Nepotism