Like the trade war between China And the United States continues to simmer, a choice of fashion from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, warmed the problem on social networks.
A photo of the 27 -year -old woman wearing a red dress with a black garnish attracted the attention of the Chinese envoy Zhang Zhishen, who published a photo of the dress on “X” and included screenshots of Weibo users who said that the lace on the dress was made in a Mabu factory, China,, where weibo users work. Zhang, the consul general of the People’s Republic of China in Denpasar, Indonesia, published on April 14: “Accusing China is business. The purchase of China is life. The beautiful lace of the dress was recognized by an employee of a Chinese company as a product. ”
This sparked more answers and decline on social networks, while the trade war between China and the United States continues to warm up. In response to the president Donald TrumpThe decision to place 145% prices on ChinaChinese officials responded last week by increasing the prices on American imports to 125%.
The choice of Leavitt – A knitted knitting dress in crystal from the self -portrait – was still available Thursday morning on the Farfetch electronic commerce site for $ 403, a 20% discount compared to its regular regular retail price. The self-portrait designer refused to comment.
The reaction on the red and black dress of Leavitt also comes at a time when Tiktok is buzzing with messages on how much luxury Houses use China for the production of designer handbags and other high articles. A few Tiktok The posters included videos inside the factories and mapped the locations of the factories to encourage people to buy directly in factories. China has been the largest manufacturer and exporter of clothing in the world for more than a decade. Last year, there were 13,820 companies and accessory companies in China, according to Statista.
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt heads for the podium at the White House on January 31, 2025 in Washington, DC
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Susan Scafidi, founder of the Fashion Law Institute of the Fordham University School of Law, said: “After days of Chinese Tiktok posts claiming that luxury Fashion is actually made in China – exaggerated stories with a few grains of truth – it is not surprising that a red dress on the press secretary of the White House is the subject of just as joyful propaganda. Ms. Leavitt’s best response could be to appear in the next briefing with her set up, labels exposed, if she can find a rare “made in USA” label in her wardrobe “.
In advance on the trade war, Scafidi said: “I am not optimistic – for a rapid reduction in prices or for the financial health of American fashion companies and consumers.”
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, talks about prices during a white house briefing on January 31, 2025.
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Scafidi has hypothesized that the Government Department of EffectivenessThe budget cuts of Y may “allow the government to pay enough federal employees remaining to cover the costs of clothing which cannot be higher (in price) by the trade war. But in the short term, I am not optimistic – either for a rapid reduction in prices or for the financial health of American fashion companies and consumers. ”
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt enters the Brady press room, for a press conference at the White House, January 31, 2025 in Washington, DC. Leavitt has announced that 25% prices in Canada and Mexico and a 10% rate on China come into force on February 1.
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The professor of digital media at the Pratt Minh-Ha Pham Institute, said that the Leavitt incident “underlines an important blindness in understanding the global economy of this administration and its taxation of prices, in particular the high prices that have been transformed in Asian and China, in particular.”
Pham, whose research is investigating the intersection of gender, race and work under global and digital capitalism, said: “Not only are we all connected – for better and for the worst – under globalization, but for almost a century, American trade laws and practices have contributed to making China the World Factory. We should not be surprised that Leavitt’s dress is made (known as in China;
– With the contributions of Tianwei Zhang