Here’s the Real Reason Nordstrom Dumped Ivanka Trump’s Line
Earlier this week, luxe department store Nordstrom announced they would no longer carry first daughter Ivanka Trump’s namesake line of clothing, jewelry, shoes and handbags. They cited lagging sales, something our newly inaugurated president quickly took umbrage with:
If ever there was a time to have a fashion reporter in the White House press corps, this is it. (Anybody notice that both Steve Bannon and Sean Spicer have undergone complete wardrobe makeovers in the last 12–14 days? Look closer—because they have.) Clearly the prez thinks Nordstrom’s decision to dump Ivanka was purely politically motivated, but let’s break down the real reasons they dropped his daughter’s line like it was hot.
First, here’s a little backstory on me: I’m a costume designer for commercials, film, and television here in Los Angeles. That means I get paid to shop—all day, every day. I’ve also written a book called ‘How to Get Dressed’, and am a regular contributor to New York Magazine. I know one thing on this earth like almost nobody else—and that thing is shopping.
For starters, Ivanka’s line serves a very particular aesthetic: ‘fancy businesswoman who flits about in perfectly carpeted offices and rides around in Lincoln town cars’. Which is great — every type of woman should be served by fashion. But the elite businesswomen who really do glide from Park Avenue penthouses to plush One World Trade Center offices do not wear $140 dresses and $99 shoes made in China.
No, those women almost exclusively wear European: as in Gucci, Prada, Chanel, and Dior. Ivanka’s average customer has about $150 or so to spend on a nice work dress. And any shopper worth their salt knows that at the price point Ivanka’s goods sell for, there are simply better made, better looking choices out there. Among them: Karen Kane, made right here in Los Angeles, and Lauren Ralph Lauren, part of the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise that has been banking on the Ralph Lauren name since 1967.
But most importantly: Once a clothing line is available at places like Marshall’s and TJ Maxx (as Ivanka’s line is), it’s game over. Once something is available to the masses, it is no longer exclusive. Nordstrom shoppers do not pay full price for brands they can buy at places known for deep discounts on last season’s looks. Period.
This is why heritage brands routinely cut the labels out of their clothes before selling excess goods to off-price retailers—it protects the exclusivity. Once exclusivity is gone, a brand is effectively dead to high-end retailers.
One need look no further than the sad tale of 1970s disco fashion king Halston when he made the decision to sell his branded wares at JC Penney in the 1980s. The dilution of brand caché was fatal—cheapening the line (and his name) to a degree from which it still has not recovered a full 37 years later.
Here’s what our newbie president has yet to learn: Fashion is a far more brutal business than politics. To quote our first lady of Project Runway, Heidi Klum:
“As you know in fashion, one day you’re in. And the next day, you’re out.”
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