The Donald Trump influence on Fashion and Masculinity will be felt in the fashion industry. Professionals should not underestimate the influence of a President’s outlook on style. John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, the President went hatless on a cold January day, that styling decision placed a once accessory staple to the back of the men’s closet for a generation. Men dropped the headwear. Of course, his First Lady who needs no introduction, Jackie, is a timeless fashion icon.
This election could mark an unexpected shift in many ways. People turned away from mass media for opinions. Mainstream channels took a credibility hit. Not only did they get it wrong by a September Issue Size Vogue issue, television commentators could not hide the disbelief on live television. The fashion press misread voter sentiments, publications placed a bet on the wrong horse, then lost. What does that say about their insight? No amount of deflection or no comments can cover up the scale of this pubic misread. After putting Kamala Harris on numerous covers, no one expects Head Editor in charge Anna Wintour to have a public make up phone call to Melania Trump.
Creative directors will need a rethink over the next months and years. Since the term “gender” became a political toxin, consumers may move away from gender free fashion, out of style. Sure, the houses can produce it. Who will buy the collections outside of four stores in NYC and SF? The marketing and messaging will take a different course. Companies are ditching DEI initiatives faster than a Shein can copy a runway look. Bottom line decisions trump social movements in boardrooms. The 47th Unites States leader’s 75 million voters are too big a market to ignore.
There could be a silver lining, style hope. Brands could become counter reactionary, more underground. The Gap was born in the counter culture of San Francisco. The Mini Skirt shock off the feminine rigidity of the fifties.
The 47th head of the United States will leave an imprint on the way we dress, like or not.