Opinion / What does Joe Biden’s presidency mean for luxury trade with China? Donald Trump’s successor enjoys support from fashion icons Anna Wintour and Karlie Kloss, but true change will be slow

Nov 10 , 2020

President-elect Joe Biden: but what impact will his victory have on the luxury goods market? Photo: Jing Daily

Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race to succeed President Obama and many fashion brands support Biden’s more socially progressive agenda – but his Build Back Better plan still puts America squarely first

For the many voters tired of theatrical politics, incoming US president Joe Biden is a welcome return to something closer to the centre. An experienced career politician, he has served 36 years in the Senate plus eight years as vice-president under Barack Obama.

Biden has made previous stabs at the top job: a plagiarised speech – from the UK Labour leader Neil Kinnock – put paid to his 1988 run. In 2008 he failed to secure the Iowa caucus. His attempt in 2016 was derailed by the tragic and untimely death of his son, Beau. Now he has finally secured the presidency, at 77 years of age, but are his policies any better than those of the man he will replace?

This progressive outlook sits well with the fashion sector. Back in 2016, numerous industry leaders supported Democrat Hillary Clinton bid for the presidency, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein among them. Today, the sector is even more politicised, with brands and influencers around the country having urged the electorate to vote, taking to the likes of Instagram to voice their support for Biden.

Julie Gilhart, president of Tomorrow Projects and chief development officer of Tomorrow Ltd, states that Biden has been “engaging with top brands on many fronts. This includes the clothing and accessories collection titled Believe in Better from the Biden Victory Fund that enlisted some of the most celebrated designers like Thom Browne, Tory Burch and many others.”

Almost 20 high profile designers from Jason Wu to Vera Wang supported his presidential campaign. Fashion icons Donna Karan, Michael Kors and Anna Wintour all voiced their support – even supermodel Karlie Kloss, sister in-law to White House adviser, Ivanka Trump’s husband Jared Kushner. Biden himself is no stranger to the industry: his daughter Ashley has a conscious hoodie brand called Livelihood.

A survey by Glossy/Modern Retail in early October found that 46.8 per cent of those polled agreed that the US economy would improve with a Biden win, with only 12.9 per cent expressing the same confidence with Trump. Now, with the presidency decided – days or even weeks of legal challenges notwithstanding – we look at what impact Biden’s win may have on the luxury sector.

What Build Back Better means for US fashion

Biden’s Build Back Better campaign and America-focused policies argue for American-made goods, bought in the US – but in a less bullish way than Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again). Gilhart suggests that his proposals show he aims to: “encourage American companies to develop US-based jobs and build up industries at home.”

She continues: “[Fashion designer] Gabriela Hearst recently spoke about the fact that more than 400,000 small businesses across the country have collapsed in the wake of Trump’s management of the current crisis. Many of these businesses are a part of the fashion industry. Having domestic production would greatly decrease difficulties caused by the coronavirus.”