With US tariffs on China lingering at 145 per cent as the two countries face off in a trade war, and the $800 de minimis shipping exemption set to end on 2 May, many fashion brands are dealing with a fast-approaching reality: they’re going to have to raise prices.
Brand founders say the decision is out of their control. “The math does not work,” says Lingua Franca founder and CEO Rachelle Hruska. Lingua Franca produces its knitwear in China, Portugal and Peru, and sources its cashmere from Mongolia. The brand planned its Autumn/Winter 2025 collection in February, paying 50 per cent up front to its manufacturers and selling items to retailers at a price based on the cost of production and duties totalling, at the time, 4.3 per cent. Now, with items on their way to the US via cargo ship to be hand-embroidered in New York, Hruska says that they’ll be hit with 145 per cent import taxes upon arrival. The remaining 50 per cent of the production costs will be due as well. If the brand sold the collection at the formerly decided price, it would lose money on every item.
Figuring out what to do next is daunting for brands. Hruska was planning on raising prices on the brand’s core collection by up to 10 to 15 per cent at the end of this week. By Tuesday, she decided not to. “We’re a little scared to raise prices. It’s a moving target,” she says, noting that the decision might have to change again, or that maybe wholesale prices will go up while retail prices stay the same. “The hardest part right now is there isn’t a way to predict anything. If you spend eight hours pricing your collection, and the next day it changes, and the next day it changes again — it’s taking away from other projects. It’s very stressful.”
Lingua Franca plans to tell customers via email later this week that prices on some items will rise. It’s already been vocal about the impact of tariffs on its business: the team posted an Instagram Story explaining how the tariffs will hit the brand’s bottom line and could “decimate” its business (it’s saved on the brand’s profile under a Story Highlight called “Tariffs are bad”). It also sent a previous email on 9 April — the day the tariffs went into effect before later being paused on all countries but Canada, China and Mexico — calling the chaos “a self-imposed global crisis unlike anything we’ve seen before”. The email linked to the brand’s “Give a Damn” collection, with sweatshirts reading “Power to the People” among other sayings.
Other brands have also dealt with tariff-related price increases by taking to social media and via email blasts aiming to be as transparent as possible. Swimwear brand Skatie sent an email on 14 April notifying customers that because it sources its fabrics overseas, prices are going to see a slight increase. The brand also mentioned that it’s raising pay for sewers. Shein, China’s ultra fast-fashion giant that has exploded in the US thanks to the de minimis shipping exemption, announced on its website Monday that prices would begin to go up on 25 April “due to global trade rules and tariffs”, though it didn’t say by how much.
Skincare device brand Foreo, which manufactures primarily in China, is raising prices between 20 and 30 per cent starting 22 April, thanks to tariffs ranging from 137 to 151 per cent across its supply chain.
“We loaded up our warehouses before tariffs came into effect, but we can’t pay a 145 per cent tariff without seeing some effects on the business,” says Evan Feldstein, Foreo’s general manager for North America. “We want to be fair to our consumers. The fairest thing is to give notice.” Once existing inventory is cleared, the brand will raise prices on its website. Retail prices — the brand sells through partners like Ulta Beauty and Nordstrom — won’t be impacted for another few months. Foreo has let customers know via social, email and with a banner on its website warning that US tariffs are coming and there will be a price increase, so they may be compelled to shop now. “It’s salesy, but it’s the truth.”
Lingerie brand Knix moved up the timing of its annual sale by six weeks so that it could stick to its planned promotions before the removal of the de minimis loophole. The Canadian brand ships directly from China.
“For me, this comes down to there being a lot of things outside of our control. We want to control the controllables we have — one of those things is the timing of the sale so we can offer great prices before we potentially have to raise them,” says Knix founder and CEO Joanna Griffiths. The brand is still navigating what costs will need to be passed onto consumers. “I really don’t think that the customer should have to pay for this, but I also know that we can’t afford to do nothing.”
In response to communication around price increases, Feldstein says most customers have been understanding, though it’s fielded a few questions as to why. While brands might fear looking opportunistic, analysts say getting out in front of the cost hikes makes sense. “Retailers should be transparent about what kind of tariffs they’re dealing with,” says John Harmon, analyst at Coresight Research. “This situation is dynamic. Retailers shouldn’t react rashly or panic, they have several choices.” He adds that including customers in the decision-making can build up good will in the near term.
Communication around price increases and supply chain turbulence can be the difference between lost or made sales. Brands shouldn’t shy away, says Jhara Valentini, founder of Valentini Media Group. “As pricing becomes more sensitive, brand purpose will act as the safety net. We’ll likely see a shift from performance-only messaging to richer emotional storytelling,” she says. “Buyers want to feel the ‘why’ behind what they’re purchasing—who made it, what it represents, and why it’s worth it. That narrative layer becomes essential when navigating elevated prices or market shifts.”
Brand founders say that they’re hoping customers — likely aware of Trump’s tariffs, an ongoing and fast-changing global news story — will be sympathetic to what brands, especially independent ones, will have to do to stay afloat. They say they’re exploring every other option before passing the increases on. What that looks like varies by brand: Griffiths says that Knix has no choice but to slash its marketing budget to save its margins at least in the near term. Lingua Franca, meanwhile, sees its direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel as its best bet, thanks to the better margins. Hruska says the plan is to up ad spend in order to keep driving people to its site. Trunk sales are another way to get products directly to consumers. Feldstein says that renegotiations with Foreo’s suppliers are underway. “It’s never an easy conversation,” he says.
Some brands, like beauty brand Dame and Fabletics, are adding a tariff surcharge line at checkout to make it clear where the price increase has come from. Knix is considering the same tactic. “I think it’s important to continue bringing awareness to people that we aren’t doing this by choice,” Griffiths says.
Brands also might stand to warn customers about what products will or won’t be available in the coming months as planning is thrown into disarray, and wrong moves can be costly. The evolving situation has changed the way companies are planning orders. Feldstein says Foreo, which can turn products around in three to four months, is being more targeted in its replenishment strategy than usual to make sure it’s not paying tariffs on products that then sit in its warehouse. The brand is also exploring bonded warehouses, which store products duty-free until sold and shipped.
Lingua Franca cancelled its planned resort collection timed to show in June. “We need to be lean, and we wanted to grow this year,” says Hruska. The brand is also holding some materials overseas for as long as it can in hopes that the tariffs might be rolled back. “We don’t know how to plan anything. It’s the not knowing that is maddening.”
Griffiths agrees that she’s at a loss. “Everyone’s kind of scratching their heads and being like, ‘What do we do here?’ Because it doesn t make a lot of sense to make those big decisions now when we don’t know what happens next.”
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
