This Week: Trump’s Tariffs Return; The Oscars; Paris Fashion Week

The Tariffs

In the first Trump administration, “infrastructure week” became a running joke among the DC press corps, with officials repeatedly promising to unveil big building plans only to shelve them as the latest news or scandal took over the agenda. We’ll soon learn whether “tariff week” is a spiritual sequel. President Donald Trump last week promised to raise tariffs on Chinese goods on March 4 by an additional 10 percent, and to impose the 25 percent duties on Canada and Mexico he promised earlier this year. He’s also threatened 25 percent tariffs on European imports as well, though the timing is unclear.

The impact of tariffs is well documented – companies will quickly pass on costs to consumers where they can, while exploring long-term solutions such as moving manufacturing to the US or a tariff-free country. Steve Madden, for instance, told investors last week it plans to raise prices on some shoes while it works to reduce its reliance on Chinese imports from 58 percent currently to 40 percent by the end of the year.

There are two big wild cards: first, brands need to evaluate where they have the ability to raise prices without losing too many customers. European luxury brands in particular are sweating this question, as consumers have made it clear that they’ve had it with price hikes, with a few exceptions. The other wild card, of course, is Trump’s unpredictability; brands may consider eating the cost of tariffs for a while, hoping for a quick return to the free trade status quo.

The Oscars

The 97th Academy Awards will go ahead more or less as planned Sunday night, as Los Angeles recovers from January’s devastating wildfires. Red carpet dressing has tilted conservative to dour lately, with Golden Globes slideshows dominated by old Hollywood-inspired looks, and the Baftas going goth (the Grammys, per usual in recent years, were a lot more fun).

Fashion pundits have plenty of theories about what’s going on here. Among them: Quiet luxury, America’s conservative tilt, and labels and stars that are too protective of their brands to take risks. Maybe everyone just overdid it with the themed dressing during the “Barbie,” “Challengers” and “Wicked” press tours. Whatever the cause, the Oscars are likely to continue the subdued trend, as entertainment’s biggest event tends to be a bit more buttoned up than its precursors.

The Shows

Paris Fashion Week suffers a bit from the same transitional feeling that tempered enthusiasm in Milan. Here too there will be some farewells, though whether they’re explicit or implied remains to be seen, and missing creative directors. But there’s also a pair of high-profile debuts: Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford on March 5 and Sarah Burton at Givenchy on March 7. Still, it’s a long wait to Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel debut in October.

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