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Ivanka’s Fashion Line Joins Long List of Failed Trump Businesses

Ivanka Trump's Fashion Brand Tanks

It looks like there will be one less line selling nude heels and pastel shift dresses as Ivanka Trump’s namesake fashion brand is shuttering, according to a report from Page Six published Tuesday afternoon. According to reports, the White House adviser’s fashion company will cease operations and lay off the staff of 18 employees immediately.

Shortly after the news broke, Trump issued the following statement. From Page Six:

In a statement to Page Six, Ivanka said, “When we first started this brand, no one could have predicted the success that we would achieve. After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners.”

She added that she is “beyond grateful for the work of our incredible team who has inspired so many women, each other and myself included. While we will not continue our mission together, I know that each of them will thrive in their next chapter.”

The announcement comes one year after the first daughter left her eponymous shoe and clothing line to join her father’s administration in a senior advisory role. A particularly sympathetic-sounding “insider” told Page Six that “the brand just never recovered since she stepped away from the company” which seems to imply that the fashion line’s performance suffered from the lack of Trump’s leadership and not the more likely scenario that she poisoned her own brand by aligning with an administration that espouses views that are antithetical to the market it is trying to court, namely young, professional women.

Ivanka Trump brand president Abigail Klem told CNBC that the line performed well when it launched in 2014, and recently launched an online store. Since joining President Trump’s administration, her handbags, perfumes, and clothes have been dumped by retailers like Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and DSW because of low sales.

The first daughter’s brand was also plagued with accusations of ethics violations, particularly when the brand was awarded trademarks in countries that might have been giving Trump preferential treatment because of her proximity to the Oval Office. In its brief existence, the line was also sued over alleged copyright and labor violations.

The shuttering of Trump’s line marks the latest in a grand family tradition of tanking businesses. The Ivanka Trump brand joins brands like Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka, and Trump Shuttle in the graveyard of products bearing the family name.