An effortlessly cool Nick Kamen strolls into a launderette, strips to his boxer shorts and washes his jeans in front of a stunned clientele, soundtracked by Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through the Grapevine. The 1985 Levi’s 501 advert made a star of its model, and presented an image in keeping with the clothing brand’s all-American style.
But could that deep-seated association with the US prove an achilles heel? Last week, in its UK accounts, Levi’s issued a warning that “rising anti-Americanism as a consequence of the Trump tariffs and governmental policies” could affect its sales in Britain. The idea is not unique – attitudes towards Tesla in the UK and Europe deteriorated when Elon Musk was closely associated with Trump. However, the Levi’s warning raises the question – could fashion become the latest sector affected by anti-American sentiment outside the US?
