The models had looked too stiff in the first set of pictures, and since American Apparel has no stores right now, the team decided they needed to do them over to show more movement and angles.
American Apparel has made no commitments yet to establish stores beyond the Melrose location, which opens in December, but even one storefront will give the company a much-needed chance to woo customers in real life. Negative space signals confidence; every minimally-stocked luxury store knows that. Standing at the island in the American Apparel kitchen, Weber laid out images for a campaign for nude bodysuits that launched in early September.
The pictures showed a diverse bunch of women wearing leotards in nine different shades of nude — eight more than American Apparel used to offer, Weber says. Following in the footsteps of brands that make lingerie for shoppers of all skin tones , American Apparel is trying to be more inclusive. Weber joined the brand more than two years ago, right before it headed into bankruptcy, and managed the messaging around the store shutdowns while looking for other work.
She was hesitant when Gildan asked her to stay on through the acquisition, but, she says, she loved American Apparel.
Her vision for the new American Apparel is a tricky thing to pull off. For its fall collection, however, American Apparel shot models in outdoors, against the backdrop of concrete buildings and misty lakeside docks. Weber chalks that up to customers not being able to see and touch those products in stores.
It was very, very soft. American Apparel does still make some of its clothing in the US. Lynch has since left the company for the clothing brand Self Esteem. If not for the everyday shoppers, American Apparel has to do it for its wholesale customers. Want more stories from The Goods by Vox? Sign up for our newsletter here.
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today to help us keep our work free for all. American Apparel was the brand that made domestically produced clothing cool again. In the early aughts, Los Angeles-based American Apparel seemed to have it all, offering a heavy dose of sex appeal on top of its domestic production and palatable prices.
When Gildan bought American Apparel after its second bankruptcy filing, it had plans to revive the storied brand, including at least a portion of its U. In March of that year, the website began to make it less obvious which items were made in the United States versus elsewhere. The board of American Apparel ousted Charney in amid sexual misconduct allegations.
In October , the company filed for Chapter A second bankruptcy filing took place 13 months later. American Apparel had not made a profit since , according to its initial bankruptcy filing. More than stores worldwide closed in early It was a purchase that made sense to analysts at the time — Gildan is a major player in the T-shirt business, selling its own imprintable basics alongside private-label activewear and hosiery.
Gildan was founded by Glenn Chamandy in with a similar homegrown, scrappy vibe as Charney, who is also Canadian. By , it was a top brand in the U. In , shortly after the American Apparel acquisition, Gildan had more than 50, employees at its manufacturing facilities, primarily in Central America.
In fact, the company announced plans to keep its manufacturing operations in Los Angeles — despite some talk to outsourcing a fraction of its goods — and its stores in the United States open. His 42 percent stake in the company, which is held as collateral by New York hedge fund Standard General LP, will be wiped out, along with that of other shareholders. Under the direction of Schneider, the brand worked to right some of these wrongs.
For instance, it toned down its ads. In fact, women make up 55 percent of our global workforce sorry, guys and an even higher percentage of our leadership and executive roles. This structure is incredibly and unfortunately rare in the corporate world. It is an edgy brand.
And it will continue to be an edgy brand. Not yet, at least. In fact, Charney remained on the sidelines even after his ouster. Had the offer been accepted and a deal completed, neither of which came into fruition, the plan would have been for Charney to return in some capacity to the company. As of late January, American Apparel executives and board members regained a measure of control, with the bankruptcy court judge approving their plan to move forward with a reorganization strategy that transferred ownership of the company from shareholders to lenders, and in doing so, stripping founder Dov Charney of any stake of the company.
In terms of post-bankruptcy American Apparel, CEO Paul Schneider said the company was able to buy only about 10 per cent of the new designs it cooked up for last fall, and those designs made up only about 6 to 8 per cent of what was in stores. That should change after the reorganization, so for the spring season, she expects to bring many more new items to stores, likely to new pieces.
Per Fast Co. She eventually closed 40 underperforming stores. And there were layoffs. Now that the closures are complete, she said the plan is to make the remaining stores easier to shop. The company hired Houlihan Lokey, a Los Angeles investment firm, to explore a possible sale, and brand licensors, Authentic Brands Group and Iconix Brand Group Inc, were among several companies reportedly interested in acquiring American Apparel if it filed for bankruptcy again.
As of November, American Apparel filed for its second bankruptcy protection in just over a year, weighed down by intense competitive pressures facing U. They took a company that could have lasted a century and crashed it into the wall. Separately, Canadian apparel maker Gildan Activewear Inc. Gildan will not be purchasing any retail store assets, it said in a statement. Yes, the brand is redirecting its efforts with all signs point back to the staples that made it a cult classic in the first place.
And as noted by no shortage of fashion writers, everything looks quite status quo for American Apparel. There is one noteworthy difference at play, though.
Not everything that American Apparel is offering is … well, American. Under the control of Gildan, the company has moved some of its manufacturing overseas, specifically, to Honduras, and with it, the company is making an interesting proposal for shoppers. Presented side-by-side, one version is made in the US, and the other is made outside the US. It got its start in a dorm room with a founder that lacked any significant business training or retail experience, and yet, borne from this humble founding was a company that has been on our radar, collectively, for the past ten years — for one reason or another.
If the brand can manage to return to its roots and focus on what it was originally known for — quality garments that are made ethically — while simultaneously staying abreast of the demands of the modern consumers, it very well may be able to regain some of the fans it has lost along the way.
The shift to digitalization and concentration of winning brands — which is taking place against a background of unprecedented Image: American Apparel.
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