As Trump pushes for U.S. manufacturing, ‘Made in America’ is losing its luster in the fashion world

LOS ANGELES – Buyers from all over the world flock to Gitman Bros. to get a piece of timeless American style: oxford shirts, plaids and rep ties often cut slightly slimmer to appeal to the trendy and urbane.

But when the company’s president, Chris Olberding, attended the venerable menswear trade show Pitti Uomo in Italy this month, the brand’s “Made in USA” label was an unexpected liability.

Clients flung jokes at the then-president-elect’s expense. There was talk about avoiding travel to the U.S. during Donald Trump’s four-year term. And one of the Ashland, Pennsylvania-company’s accounts was almost canceled because a customer wanted to boycott American clothes.

“I felt like the wind got knocked out of me,” Olberding said. “I always thought it was a good thing to keep our production in the U.S., and all of a sudden the conversation changes because of this one person.”

By all appearances, Trump should be a boon for the “Made in USA” brand. The nation’s 45th president swept into office pledging to get American factories humming again.

“We will follow two simple rules: buy American and hire American,” Trump said during his inauguration speech.

But the negative reaction at Pitti Uomo underscores the pitfalls of these polarizing times. Trump by association can act as a double-edged sword.

A backlash against American brands would be a painful and ironic twist for the apparel and footwear companies that have fought to keep production stateside against innumerable odds.

Long before Trump campaigned on the promise of reviving domestic manufacturing, time-tested labels such as Gitman Bros., Filson and Red Wing Shoes were touting their “Made in USA” roots.

They rode a wave of popularity in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis as trendsetters began rejecting fast-fashion brands like H&M and embracing traditionally stodgy ones like Brooks Bros. – an acknowledgment that it was better to buy pieces that lasted than support wasteful fads. With a modern cut and higher prices, the movement essentially made your grandfather’s clothes cool.

Now, some of those same companies, as well as more recently established ones, are wondering what the “Made in USA” label will mean under the new administration. Will it continue to stand for craftsmanship and style, or amount to an endorsement of Trump’s policies – or even the president himself?

It’s a question made all the more important because many of the labels’ newfound fans are ensconced in left-leaning enclaves like Brooklyn and Los Angeles’ Silver Lake.

“Is ‘Made in USA’ in danger of becoming ‘Make Made in USA Great Again’?” said Jonathan Wilde, editor of GQ.com.

Wilde sees a contradiction unfolding. On one hand, U.S. apparel makers could benefit from an administration that favors local producers and makes domestic manufacturing more cost effective. On the other, these brands could lose their cool among their prime demographic if Trump turns “Made in America” into a political slogan.

“He can support things that aren’t entirely wrong,” Wilde said. “But can you separate that from the rest of him? He could be your largest ally or your worst ally. He could make what was a very good phrase almost something of a third rail.”

New Balance may be the first casualty of this new dynamic. The company, which makes some of its footwear in the U.S., found itself at the center of a social media firestorm in November after an executive was quoted in the Wall Street Journal saying the Obama administration “turned a deaf ear to us” and that “things are going to move in the right direction” under Trump.

Customers were outraged, pledging a boycott and posting videos of the company’s chunky sneakers getting tossed in the trash or set ablaze. White supremacists began claiming New Balance as the shoe brand of white people. The company quickly released a statement saying it did not tolerate bigotry.

A similar controversy befell L.L. Bean this month (albeit without the white supremacists) after Trump tweeted support for the Maine clothing brand, which had landed on a list of companies to boycott because of its ties to the president. Those ties, however, were limited to board member Linda Bean, a Trump donor. In a public statement, the company sought to distance itself from Linda Bean, the granddaughter of L.L. Bean’s founder.

“We are deeply troubled by the portrayal of L.L. Bean as a supporter of any political agenda,” said the company.

The recent politicization of fashion labels is the stuff of nightmares for executives like Geoff Clawson, president of Birdwell, a surfwear company that’s been manufacturing its signature board shorts in the same Santa Ana, California, factory since 1961.

“It’s something we pay close attention to, but I don’t wish for that problem,” Clawson said of the controversies that usurped New Balance and L.L. Bean.

Keeping production in the U.S. is hard enough without having to worry about how partisan politics can affect the bottom line. Supply chain is a constant concern because the success of Clawson’s business is deeply linked to the survival of his nylon supplier in South Carolina and grommet supplier in Florida.

“It’s possible for ‘Made in America’ to come back, but it will require more of this source material manufacturing to also return to the U.S. and be profitable,” Clawson said. “Politics aside, it seems like that’s what the president-elect is pointing to. For us to be ‘Great Again,’ we need to reclaim these disciplines.”