After signing on as a White House adviser, Ivanka Trump placed her company, IT Collection LLC, in a trust run by family members — just as President Donald Trump had done with his own businesses.
Despite removing herself from the business, Ivanka continues to wear her eponymous merchandise frequently. According to The Wall Street Journal, the first daughter sported an Ivanka Trump item in more than half of her social media posts from March 29 — when she officially became an adviser to her father — through October. When reviewing posts from Star Style, the WSJ found that Ivanka sported shoes, handbags, jewelry or clothing from the Ivanka Trump Collection in 46 of 68 Instagram posts, or 68 percent.
In an e-mailed statement to the WSJ, Ivanka said she has no aim of profiting from her role in the White House.
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“If what motivated me was to grow my businesses and make money, I would have stayed in New York and done just that,” she wrote.
But the 36-year-old’s fashion choices on her social media have potential implications for her business. Ivanka has more followers than some social media influencers, with over 6.4 million Facebook followers and 4.1 million Instagram followers — and she posts frequent images of herself on both platforms. FN has reached out to the manufacturer of Ivanka Trump shoes, Marc Fisher, but has not yet received commentary.
And while the first daughter plays no managerial role in her business, she continues to profit from it: The business is valued at over $50 million in a federal filing, and Ivanka reportedly earned somewhere from $1 million to $5 million through her brand between March 9 and May, according to the WSJ.
Despite the first daughter’s high-profile position, several big-name retailers have made the decision to drop the Ivanka Trump Collection, including Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. As a result, the brand is shifting toward e-commerce and has opened up a boutique in Trump Tower.
While the WSJ‘s report is new, the ethical implications of Ivanka’s wearing goods from her eponymous clothing line — and serving as its primary promoter — has been a hot-button issue for some time.
