Trump’s Tariff Threats Dominate Menswear Market at Chicago Collective

CHICAGO — Trump’s tariffs. That was the overwhelming topic of conversation at the Chicago Collective men’s show last week. The issue and its impact on apparel pricing — particularly tailored clothing — cast an air of uncertainty over the generally upbeat show. 

A vast majority of suits and sport coats for many stores are produced in Canada by industry leaders Peerless Clothing, Jack Victor, Samuelsohn and others. Although an 11th-hour negotiation between the two countries pushed a decision off for 30 days, the concern was still palatable.

Some of the vendors had already decided to pass a portion of the potential costs along while others were taking a wait-and-see attitude or were prepared to absorb any extra charges themselves. 

At the same time, Canadian manufacturers were holding preemptive discussions to seek solutions to any potential tariffs, whether that involved finding different countries of origin from which to ship goods or brainstorming about other ways to avoid the tax.

Most retailers on the other hand were mainly dismissive of the threat. When suits retail for $1,500 or more, they said, another $100 won’t make or break a sale. Others didn’t expect the tariffs to continue for very long if they are enacted in a month.

Tariff issues aside, independent stores were coming off a strong 2024 and were expecting more of the same this year. They turned out in force at the popular trade show searching for updated knitwear, outerwear and modern suit silhouettes for fall.

Ken Giddon, president of New York-based Rothmans, complimented show management led by Danielle Owen and Monique Kielar for seamlessly assuming the mantle from now-retired show manager Bruce Schedler. “I don’t see any hiccups,” said Giddon. “They’ve moved it to another level. If you’re in the menswear business and you’re not here, you’re making a mistake.”

Giddon found some strong brands at the show to add to his mix including Latorre tailored clothing; Wax outerwear; Holderness & Bourne sportswear; Taion, a Japanese down-centered collection, and Chelsey accessories.

He was also not all that concerned about the tariffs. Prices on goods already ordered should be unchanged and most brands had not raised prices on fall merchandise at this point.

“We’re retailers, we deal with stuff all the time,” he said. “We take hits and get back up. This is just one more.”

Hill Stockton of Norman Stockton in Winston Salem, N.C., said even though 90 percent of his tailored clothing comes from Canada, he was not planning to change his assortment. “Clothing manufacturers will do what’s fair,” he said. “It may cost us more and we may have to raise our prices a little, but we can’t worry about it.”

At the show, he was looking for moderately priced outerwear and colorful sweaters to appeal to the young men who have become shoppers since his son Richard joined the business and helped modernize the mix. “That’s been a big benefit for us,” he said. “Our business has been incredible for the past five years.”

Kory Helfman, owner of Ken’s Man’s Shop in Dallas, believes working closely with his Canadian vendors will be key to navigating the volatile tariff issue. And he’s braced if the U.S. government turns its gaze on Europe next and tries to impose similar taxes on importers from that part of the world. 

“We have to have open communication on both sides of the table,” he said, acknowledging that it’ll be hard to achieve the same margins if prices are substantially raised to cover tariffs. “We’re not challenged yet but talk to me in the fall,” he said.

Dana Katz of Miltons in Chestnut Hill, Braintree and Burlington, Mass., also took a wait-and-see attitude. “We have to wait to see how it unfolds. I don’t know if apparel is first and foremost on the president’s mind like it is on ours,” he said. So far, he said vendors have been “very reasonable” about absorbing extra costs of doing business and it may be the same this time as well.

“We’ll approach it on an item-by-item basis,” he said. “We’re very sensitive about giving our customers great value.”

He said his stores “had a decent year and were looking forward to 2025.

“There are certain unknowns with tariffs but we ended the year clean and we’re getting indications this will be a good wedding season, which is a strong driver of our business.”

At the show, he was looking for new sportswear and outerwear vendors. “We had a great season with wool outerwear in all lengths and we want to build on that for 2025.”

Larry Davidson of Davidsons in Roanoke, Va., said he has been hit with new, higher prices from many of his vendors this season — even those not based in Canada. As a result, he said he’s going to have to eliminate some brands going forward. “I only have so much open-to-buy.” And he’s worried that his customers may be resistant to higher prices.

Even so, he said business post-pandemic has been as strong as it has ever been in the company’s 115-year history. 

“Men determined they needed to dress differently for events and weddings,” he said. And they hit the sales floor at Davidsons to update their wardrobes.

Lindsay Morton Gaiser of Andrisen Morton was also shopping the show for some new pieces to update the mix at her Denver store. “The menswear market doesn’t change that much and if we find a brand we love, we scale it,” she said, adding that this strategy has prompted her to focus her assortment in recent years to put her muscle behind vendors she believes in.

At the show, she was attracted to a three-in-one coat from Moorer that featured a water-repellent cashmere outer layer over a lightweight puffer. She also liked the knitwear from Stefan Brandt.

Current business is good, even though January was a little soft, she said, “but overall, we think it’ll be a good year.”

She was also not that concerned about tariffs since most of her tailored clothing comes from Italy. “Nobody knows what’s going to happen,” she said. “We just need to take a pause and let things settle before we all panic.”

Alessio Nanni, the fashion and beauty director for the Italian Trade Agency, which brought more than 60 brands to the show, was reluctant to address the tariff issue and its potential benefit to manufacturers from his country. “We’re trying to monitor the situation but we’re not too worried.” Menswear is currently outperforming womenswear for his country as guys seek to “express themselves more,” he said. And the ITC is seeking brands in different categories such as activewear, knitwear, outerwear and accessories to bring to the show in the future to meet that demand.

The Canadian manufacturers were not nearly as calm. Most declined to speak on the record but said they were exploring raising prices at least 10 percent and absorbing the rest of the costs of the tariffs if they’re ultimately enacted. Others were waiting. “We’re not quoting any price increases today, but that could change in an hour,” said one vendor.

Stephen Granovsky, chief executive officer of Samuelsohn, said if the tariffs are implemented, he will be forced to raise prices in the high-single to low-double digits since the vast majority of his business comes from the U.S. 

“The biggest challenge to Canadian manufacturers is not other Canadians, it’s the Italians,” he said. “And as of today, they’re not affected.”

But because his suits retail for $1,700 or $1,800, he hopes the increase in price — if necessary — won’t impact sales too much. “Our retail customers are not overly worried and they’re willing to work with us,” he said.

Although his company doesn’t produce in Canada or Mexico, Peter Leff, executive vice president of wholesale at Tommy Bahama, was still “very concerned” about the tariff situation. The company does manufacture in China, whose additional 10 percent tariff went into effect last Tuesday, and its supplier there is already looking to open a factory somewhere in the region to skirt the additional tariffs being levied on that country.

“We’ve been anticipatory and adjusted our countries of origin,” he said. “But there’s still a lot of uncertainty.”

Despite his concern, Leff was focused on showing retailers Tommy Bahama is more than a summer brand. “It’s clear we’re a 12-month brand now,” he said, pointing to the Indigo Palms denim collection and related sportswear pieces on display in the booth. 

Key tailored clothing vendors at the show also tried to move beyond the tariff situation and focused on the key trends of the fall season.

Dan Orwig, president of Peerless, said that after a soft third quarter, fueled by uncertainty around the election, “business really picked up. We saw nice results with our seasonal products like corduroy, velvet and topcoats,” he said. “We finished fall in a good position and we believe that feeling of optimism will continue into spring. More and more consumers are back to full-time work and they need to dress up.” 

But it’s not their grandfathers’ suits. It’s looser fits, comfortable fabrics and styles that can “ease down the heaviness,” he said.

Nelson Suriel, vice president of U.S. sales for Jack Victor, was similarly upbeat. “Retailers had record years in 2023 and ‘24 and are anticipating the same for 2025,” he said. He said merchants are looking for innovative sport coats in knits or other fabrics, with stretch and comfort built in.

In addition, he said, “We feel bullish about double-breasteds” and recently added one to the tuxedo assortment. “People need something new.”

The Chicago Collective continues to cater to the more-traditional end of the menswear market. But for retailers seeking younger, more-contemporary options, there’s another show in town at the same time. Called Show & Tell, it was started by trade show veteran Brian Hecht in the summer of 2023. Hecht had previously worked for Project but left two years ago to branch out on his own.

Seeing that many brands in Chicago were unable to get booth space at the perennially sold-out Collective, he created an alternative. 

The brand’s vendor mix is significantly different, however,  and included Alpha Industries, Mitchell & Ness, Paper Planes, Honor the Gift and Saucony — about 60 companies in total in an open-format space on North Morgan Street.

“They’re commercially viable brands that don’t make sense at the Collective,” he said. “These collections are younger and more progressive. We’re not targeting the same brands.”

Hecht said the February show turned a profit for the first time and he’s hoping to grow his exhibitor base more at the next edition in August.

Here are a few of the standout brands from the Chicago Collective:

Robert Talbott

James Watson may have only joined the brand last October, but he’s already making his mark. The  former creative director of Jack Victor, who also worked for Eleventy, Michael Kors and Slowear, joined Robert Talbott as senior vice president of brand development to help introduce the brand to the market.

He’s spent the past months working with creative director Sebastian Dollinger and poring through the brand’s rich archives for inspiration.

For the fall collection, the brand created what Watson described as a “man-proof merchandise,” or a selection of shirts, sweaters and ties in complementary neutral shades to eliminate the guesswork of mixing and matching. The shirts — a hallmark of the Talbott brand — were in solids, checks and plaids, and paired with quilted vests and cashmere sweaters. 

In addition to the man-proof offering, Talbott also offered chunky sweaters, a peacoat, a baseball jacket, an assortment of dress shirts in a variety of patterns and seven-fold ties made in Como. Sport shirts with the company’s signature one-piece California collar were also included in chambrays, lightweight double-brushed cotton Oxfords and micro-houndstooths. Complementary trousers in stretch cotton were also part of the mix.

Surfside Supply Co.

Chris Manley has a rich apparel-industry résumé that includes Donna Karan, Hugo Boss, Theory and Converse. Eleven years ago he launched Surfside Supply Co. which he describes as a “beach-inspired lifestyle brand.”

Although he grew up in the Bronx, Manley vacationed at the Jersey Shore in the summers and the love of the sea and surf never left him.

Surfside is not designed to be worn by surfers, but instead is intended to be a cozy assortment of comfortable and stylish essentials. Think T-shirts, Henleys, sweaters, drawstring pants. Everything is machine washable and reasonably priced such as a fleece quarter-zip made from rayon and recycled polyester that retails for $98 or a thermal hoodie with a brushed interior for $115. Washed button-downs and hoodies are under $100 and a garment-dyed cotton and Tencel shirt is $115.

Johnnie-O

The Santa Monica-based men’s brand has come a long way since its founder John O’Donnell created a surfer logo in 2005 and put it on wedge-collar piqué polo shirts. In the past 20 years, the brand has expanded into a full lifestyle collection  for men and boys — womenswear was added last year — with annual sales of more than $200 million. In 2022, it sold a minority stake for $108 million to Wasatch Global Investors and Ares Management Corp. 

For fall, the brand continues to expand its assortment, according to Michael Lamaker, senior vice president of specialty sales. That includes more outerwear offerings as well three different stock inseams in bottoms. “Retailers are struggling to find tailors and by having different lengths, it gives instant gratification to customers,” he said.

Also popular is what he called “top-shelf wovens.” The shirts, made from European piece goods and made in Turkey, retail for $178 to $198. The brand also offers similarly elevated options in cashmere sweaters and hoodies. “We find opportunities in the more-elevated space,” he said.

Other key pieces for fall include suede and merino wool vests and printed knit sport coats in performance fabrics that retail for $428.

Stitch Note

Since its founding in 2018, the brand has remained true to its mission to create timeless garments in sustainable materials that will stand the test of time.

Founder Nick Khalil prides himself on developing fabrics that can provide alternatives to what has become commonplace in the industry. Case in point: button-downs are offered in crepe wool or flax linen, some with hand-embroidered details that result in pieces that are unique to the collection.

“For holiday, everybody wants to get away from polyester stretch materials,” he said, so Stitch Note developed a plaid from washed linen as an alternative that it offers in a variety of vintage-inspired patterns and colors that retail for $135 to $150. There’s also a bamboo cashmere button-down, a leather overshirt or shirts made from yak fur.

The collection also offers a wide range of wool pieces including a pocketed shirt-jacket for $159 with matching trousers. 

Gallotti

One of the new additions to the Italian contingent at the show, Gallotti is a Tuscany-based brand founded by brothers Francesco and Orlando Gallotti in 1969. Originally called Fratelli Gallotti, the brand got its start creating high-end leather outerwear for men and women. The next year, it began mixing the leather with other fabrics on its garments.

Not much has changed since then. The company still produces luxury outerwear under its own label as well as for other companies including Canali and Corneliani.

Since 2010, the company has been run by the second generation of the family: Giovanni and Pasquale Gallotti, sons of the founders. The brand is sold in 47 countries and the company derives half of its annual sales from its own brand and the other half from private label production.

For fall, top pieces from the Gallotti label include a reversible raincoat, suede bombers with quilted linings, unlined cashmere car coats or topcoats and a suede jacket with knit sleeves and collar.

Taion

Another newcomer to the show, Taion is a Japanese brand of 800-fill down products created from responsibly sourced duck feathers. Its mission is to offer an affordable high-quality collection to maintain “taion,” or body temperature in Japanese. The collection launched in 2016 with two styles of vests and has since expanded into a wide range of jackets, hoodies, coats, bags and other accessories.

It offers several collections including a Basic Line, City Line, Mountain Line, Military Line and a CR Line which offers detachable inner linings. The Basic Line centers around quilted down vests and jackets with varying neck treatments as well as quilted pants and skirts. The City Line offers similar silhouettes but in more trendy patterns such as camo. The Work line offers Cordura and down and features hammer loops, metal rivets and buttons. Although down continues to be an option in both the Mountain and Military lines, there are other options made from non-down fabrics such as merino wool or acrylic.

Prices are sharp with a military-inspired hard shell vest retailing for $149 and a reversible coat with down on one side and a Sherpa fleece on the other for $249.

The brand also creates kidswear.