Drawing on the eerie similarities between Trump and Hitler’s rhetoric and policies, Vice News ponders whether the decimation of Berlin’s booming garment sector during WW2 is an indicator of what’s to come for the $343 billion dollar American fashion industry under our new president.
Like Hitler, Trump uses xenophobic fervor to unite citizens against a common enemy. From abandoning the TTP, to suggesting we terminate NAFTA, to denying entrance to Muslims and other immigrant groups, Trump believes we should further isolate ourselves by only buying American and hiring American. Likewise, Hitler promoted the purchase of Aryan-made products, which was enforced with the illegal buyouts of Jewish businesses, ultimately purging the entire race from the industry within six years.
However, Jewish design and craftsmanship had been the backbone of the German fashion for generations, and their elimination ultimately left Hitler with an inferior Aryan workforce whose poor quality products, combined with Hitler’s alienation of other countries, left the fascist dictator economically vulnerable and desperate for export dollars.
Given American fashion’s heavy reliance on foreigners, from designers, to models, to manufacturers, Trump’s expedited removal of illegal immigrants and his proposed border adjustment tax for overseas production could pose a major threat. If these policies were to continue to be enforced, experts say designers will be faced with three options: close up shop, pay more to produce domestically, or push the extra cost onto consumers, with the latter being most likely.
You can read more about it at Vice.
