When millionaire Scottish actress Louise Linton, the wife of US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, used designer brands as hashtags for a selfie photo she posted on Instagram after disembarking from a government plane, she apparently was seeking attention. Social media experts say that people post on media to elicit positive feedback such as likes, shares, and comments.
Linton, however, harvested criticisms and negative comments instead, for flaunting her wealth and connections that allowed her access to government resources for free, Fortune reported.
Even the designers whose brand she used as hashtags kept their distance from the politician’s wife.
No benefits for hashtags
The Telegraph reported that Linton did not get benefits in the form of gifted merchandise, compensation, or loans from the Valentino brand, according to a spokesperson for the fashion brand. Tom Ford likewise made a similar statement and insisted the actress, who appeared in the 2016 horror movie “Cabin Fever,” is not affiliated with the brand in any way.
The reason behind the brands keeping a distance from Linton is because the wife of Mnuchin is a polarizing figure. When Jennifer Miller, an Instagram user chided Linton for flaunting her wealth and mentioned that the taxpayers paid for her trip, Linton shot back saying that she probably paid more taxes toward her day trip than Miller, a mother of three from Oregon.
Photo with the Trumps
Linton eventually apologized for her response to Miller. Being the wife of Mnuchin, a member of Trump’s cabinet, is polarizing in itself without the need to tell the public she wears designer labels. Because of her gaffe, a top fashion insider said that Linton would likely not be invited to Fashion Week or the big galas.
She also killed her chances of appearing in Vogue because her wedding photo with Donald and Melania Trump killed her chances with Anna Wintour.
Fortune noted that brands need to define limits and set boundaries. It added that the best marketing departments will have ready, in advance, answers to those questions for similar incidents involving a polarizing figure.
At times, brands should be quick to distance themselves from certain users such as the Tiki Torch Company did when neo-Nazi groups used its products during the Charlottesville violence.
The couple, meanwhile, reimbursed the government for their use of the government plane which in itself generated more controversy over the couple allegedly viewing the eclipse from the roof of Fort Knox instead of the fort’s garden. In a statement, the Treasury said that Mnuchin was on official travel to visit the US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. It was planned in early August, but was postponed later to accommodate the calendar of Congress, Vanity Fair reported.
