Lafayette 148’s Deirdre Quinn Speaks Out about the U.S.-China Tariff Situation Threatening Her 29-Year-Old Business

Deirdre Quinn, cofounder and chief executive officer of Lafayette 148, is speaking out about the U.S.-China tariff situation, which is threatening her 29-year-old designer apparel business.

The luxury women’s apparel brand generates 85 percent of its sales in the U.S. and manufactures 95 percent of its clothing in its own 240,000-square-foot production facility in Shantou, China.

“If these tariffs don’t stop, I’ll be out of business. Who can handle $33 million in tariffs? It went from $2 million to $33 million, and I’m furious. I’m not going to be a tragedy. I’m figuring it out. We’re only bringing in what I need to,” Quinn said.

“Look, I have enough money to survive for now, but if this doesn’t go away, I can’t survive. I can’t move my factory,” the CEO said.

In addition to the American market, Lafayette 148 does business in Canada. “The day that Trump tried to make Canada the 51st state, my business went from up 16 percent [up], to down 55 percent,” Quinn said.

Quinn said this situation reminds her of COVID-19. “I can remember my factory was shut down and the next thing, the mills were shutting down, and I’m telling everyone, ‘You have no idea what’s coming.’ I feel the same about tariffs right now,” she said.

She said she was talking with a friend of hers who asked, “How does it possibly go from $2 million to $33 million [in tariffs]?” She said she was at 7.5 percent ($1.5 million) from 2019 to 2024. On Feb. 4, U.S. President Donald Trump added 10 percent more (another $2 million), then on March 5, he added another 10 percent ($2 million) and on April 3, he added another 34 percent ($7 million) and then on April 9, another 50 percent ($10 million). Then on April 10, he added another 41 percent ($8 million) to reach 145 percent, plus the initial 7.5 percent, explained Quinn.

“To my little business, $100 to bring something in is now $250. It’s insane. I would have to double [the price of] my garments, so I might as well shut down,” she said. “I know everybody’s scrambling. I’m a compound. I make the knits, the wovens, the leathers. I’d have to find 30 little factories. I’m not doing it,” she said.

Still, she was adamant that she’s not shutting down.

“I’m not going out of business. I’m just furious. I think people need to know, and I’m not afraid to talk about it,” Quinn said.

She said she’s not the only one. The whole industry is dealing with it. “Look, I’m 95 percent reliant on China,” Quinn said. She said people say to her, “‘Didn’t you see it coming?’ Of course I saw it coming. I planned for tariffs. I didn’t plan for 152 percent,” Quinn said.

Lafayette 148’s retail prices are in the luxury range. Jackets retail from $1,698 to $2,498. Leather jackets go from $2,498 to $3,998. Pants range from $698 to $1,298, and cashmere sweaters are $998 to $1,998. Jeans are $598, and blouses retail from $698 to $1,298. The average order value is $2,500 per customer, and the average unit price is $1,000, Quinn said.

She said it’s not like her company isn’t looking at other places to manufacture. “We’re not mass production. We’re luxury apparel. Our stuff is expensive, it competes with Europe. We don’t know if Trump is going to throw tariffs on them next, or reduce them on us. It’s just a big waiting game, but how long can you wait?”

She knows brands that are not importing right now. “But I have stores. I can’t not bring in merchandise.” Lafayette 148 has 11 stores in the U.S. and also has e-commerce, which is its biggest division.

“If it [tariffs] doesn’t go down, we won’t survive this. I do believe it’s going down. Everyone says it’s going down. It’s just a matter of wait and see,” Quinn said.

Quinn said her employees are working hard and understand they are in a tough spot. “I don’t want to drop people’s salaries. I will do some reorganizing to weather the storm as best as I can. Their partners are out looking for solutions. I’m not making candles or iPhones. I’m making complicated fashion.”

People say, “‘Are you sure you want to speak out?’ Why wouldn’t I? I have to get the word out,” she said.

China and the U.S. have to get to the table and work it out. “It’s insanity. They’re going to put people out of business, not just me,” she said.

Quinn said she has spoken to many people and the Council of Fashion Designers of America had a phone call Friday with its members about tariffs. “Who’s getting to Trump? I don’t want to fester in it, I want to get it out there in a bigger way,” she said.

“I know that tariffs are not going away. And he’s only picking on China,” Quinn added.

During her career Quinn has traveled to more than 70 countries for manufacturing. “There’s a reason I stayed in this industry. We’re vertical. It’s the best factory ever. The handmade work that goes on — it is a dream. Look, I have friends in Australia who own some brands that are giving us some work, so I’m really happy about it.

“I’m not picking sides. It’s not about red and blue. It’s about red, white and blue. I dress both sides. I’m picking a country. I can not believe that this will put me out of business if they don’t sort this out. I believe they will, I just don’t know when. This was my American dream,” she said.

Quinn said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called her to ask how she’s doing. She said Hochul and First Lady Melania Trump are both customers.

“I’ve survived 9/11, COVID-19, the recession, tariffs [part one]. It is insane,” she said.

Meanwhile, Quinn had to cut 10 jobs in the past week. “I’m not trying to scare people., I’m very transparent about what’s going on. People love working in the company. We’re not a little company. We’re a complicated company. We’re making luxury product in every classification. That’s not easy to do.” The business makes 300,000 pieces annually and generates more than $100 million in volume.

“It’s all about your competition. And my competition is Europeans. They have 90 days to worry about. I have to worry about it in the next 90 days,” she said. She stopped shipping for two weeks and wanted to see if the tariffs went back down. It’s a lot of money every month. “It didn’t go back down, so I released some shipments very cautiously, and we’re still continuing to manufacture fall. I believe the countries are going to work it out,” Quinn said.

Her parents were immigrants and she worked very hard to build Lafayette 148, whose headquarters are at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. She employs 300 people in New York. “I don’t have $33 million [for tariffs]. He [Trump] has to reduce it down to something we can live with,” she said.

She said her story is the American dream, and it’s about entrepreneurism and small business. “I make beautiful clothes for the American consumer and they’re calling me and saying, ‘Are you going to be OK?’ If it stays at this level, there are a lot of people who will be out of business.”