Why Ivanka Trump's Fashion Label Is Trending, Even Though It's Dead

Sam Reed
Updated

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Ivanka Trump's eponymous fashion label shuttered in July 2018 due to ongoing concerns and complications related to potential conflicts of interest — even though the First Daughter herself stepped away from the company in 2017 after she joined her dad's administration.

But just because the brand is dead for now, that doesn't mean it won't later rise from the grave.

That's why the Associated Press report that the Chinese governement approved applications for 5 of her brand's trademarks (for child care centers, sunglasses and wedding dresses, among other goods and services) in January is raising some eyebrows. Though said applications were filed in 2016 and 2017, some could remain valid though 2028 — well past the date that her father could potentially still be in office. Pending objection, the trademarks will go into effect in 90 days.

Even fishier — the approvals coincide with the President's contentious, ongoing trade negotiations with China.

And these aren't the only applications to be approved. In October, 16 more trademark applications were approved, bringing the total number to 34 approvals in the last year. Ivanka's reps note that the trademarks are to protect from knockoffs, a common occurrence in China, per the AP.

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Others, however, are crying foul. "Since [Ivanka] has retained her foreign trademarks, the public will continue to have to ask whether President Trump has made foreign policy decisions in the interest of his and his family’s businesses," reads a statement from government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington posted in November.

Back in July, Ivanka said in a statement that she doesn't know if she'll return to the label bearing her name. "I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business," she said, "but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington." We guess it really comes down to whether or not she has political ambitions of her own.