A trio of fashion publications took notice of Unionwear’s camouflage Kamala Harris hat last week and attempted to make sense of it’s skyrocketing popularity.

Women’s Wear Daily  quoted Unionwear President Mitch Cahn extensively about the viral nature of the hat’s sales:

“We were completely surprised by it. We’ve been in business for 32 years. We never had an instance where we made a sample in the morning and then they had sold a million dollars’ worth of hats by the next morning,” said Cahn

as well as the hat’s universal appeal:

“We’ve been making this camo hat for years for hunters, for people in the Midwest. The idea that this hat would appeal to fans of Chappell Roan and Midwestern hunters is probably why the campaign picked it, because it has a really, really broad appeal and brings people together,” Cahn said. “Obviously the sales and the demand for it and the excitement about the hat speak for itself.”

Vogue Business focused on concepts including poltical merch as “wearable memes” and how the Dems are leaning into pop culture and gen x and listening to their constituents in a way that makes MAGA hats look stale.  Vogue also addressed the speed at which Chinese-made knockoffs appeared on Etsy and Ebay.

“It raises the question: who does — and who should — profit off of a viral campaign moment? Hat manufacturer Unionwear, for one, is already doing big business. And, judging by the million-plus raised in the first day of hat sales, the Harris-Walz campaign is raising big money from merch, too. There’s no harm in smaller businesses like Etsy sellers getting in on the action… It’s another form of positive engagement…[but] brands should not hop on the trend… not on someone else’s coat-tails.”

Vanity Fair focused on the campaigns ability to go from concept to sale in 24 hours as well as the appeal of hunting camo as fashion vis a vis military camo.

Interestingly, none of the articles referenced news from earler this year predicting that union hats and shirts were becoming this year’s fashion anomoly.

Union T-Shirts and Hats Become 2024’s Unlikeliest Fashion Trend