Story of one brand: American Apparel
We are launching a new category.where we will tell the stories behind the labels of brands, the things of which many of us hang in the closet. Let's start with American Apparel - beloved by all the manufacturer of basic hipster clothing, as well as provocative advertising.
The brand for the production of basic, but emphatically seductive clothing was invented by Canadian Dov Charney. He was interested in simple knitwear while still a teenager - in 1984 (he was fifteen) Charney began to bring Hanes and Fruit of the Loom knitwear from America to his native Canada. He never received a college degree - after three years at Tufts University, Charney dropped out of school, borrowed money from his father and began making T-shirts, underwear, tops and socks. So in 1997, his company and the first American Apparel store were born, and in its assortment were jeans, accessories, nail polishes and shoes.
One of the main rules of Dov Charney's business is to produce things only in the United States, at one factory in Los Angeles. Today, American Apparel is perhaps the only brand that is sold through its own retail chains in China, and not vice versa. American tailors themselves make knitwear and dye fabrics in a factory in downtown Los Angeles. That is why the inscription "Made in USA" proudly flaunts on every tag.
Dov Charney immediately made a bid for provocation and teenage sexuality. In the American Apparel ad campaigns, young girls in lace-up shorts, then transgender models, or gray-haired retired Jackie O'Shaughnessy are filmed. The success of the brand is built on simple and clear to everyone instincts. Sexuality lies in the simplicity and naturalness. To sell ordinary sports leggings with three stripes, it is enough to put them on naked Sasha Gray. In this Dov difficult to argue. By 2005, an entire guard of pornstars had time to play AA advertising: Lauren Phoenix, Charlotte Stokely and Fay Reagan.
Sexual provocation and American Apparel are practically synonymous. In this, of course, the merit of its founder. Charney on the guitar, maybe not playing, but the image of a rock star supports regularly. A stocky guy with a weekly stubble and a lustful gaze repeatedly received summons for two reasons. The first is covered in too overt advertising, which annually falls under sanctions. The British Standards Board in advertising ASA decided that climbing trees without panties, demonstrating the absence of epilation through transparent lace and painting nails in lingerie alone is unacceptable. In 2012, AA advertising was banned due to the participation of a half-naked teenage girl. This happened because of the complaint of a woman who went to the site of the brand with her daughter and was outraged by the photos.
Another reason is less charming - Dova's harassment in relation to his minor employees. Several subordinates unanimously claim that Charney was intimidating them, threatening to be fired, and one of them, Irena Morales, was allegedly kept in sex slavery. In response to this, Charney just chuckles, and then releases T-shirts with the words "Teenagers Do It Better". To condemn him is extremely problematic, because one of the clauses of the employment contract prohibits the issuance of internal company conflicts to the public. Charney responds to any claims that a sexually-liberated atmosphere reigns in his office. Therefore, he allows himself to hold meetings of the board of directors in his underpants, and to call employees in the office “slut”.
The second word in the value system of American Apparel after “provocation” is “freedom”. The company is actively fighting discrimination of the LGBT community. For example, in 2012, ten thousand T-shirts with the slogan "Legalize Gay" were distributed free of charge in Paris. Later, T-shirts with the words "Gay O.K." began to be sold in stores. and "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride". A percentage of sales went to GLAAD, an American organization that wants to eliminate discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. "Both the Americans and the French are striving for justice, and we are proud that we can use the resources of our company to support people in this important struggle," said Dov.
The founder of AA is fighting for human rights and at the same time clowning around. The question of his transgressions remains open, as in the case of Terry Richardson or Woody Allen. With the latter, by the way, Charney had a serious conflict in 2007 due to the fact that in a commercial for American Apparel illegally used a frame from the movie "Annie Hall". For the theft of the screenshot, where Woody Allen appeared in the role of an Orthodox Jew, the director sued the king of knitwear and outrage as much as five million dollars. In the courtroom, Dov showed up in striped pants and a polo t-shirt, crawled over to Allen's lawyer and appealed to the director's ambiguous reputation.
Not a single economic crisis has passed without a trace for American Apparel. In 2011, Dov resolved the issue with a drop in sales radically: he went through photos of all the employees and dismissed those who seemed not attractive enough to him. This provoked another wave of public discontent. But it is necessary to go to any AA store and it immediately becomes clear that this is not an ugly place. To get you a job at American Apparel, experience is optional. Enough to have a pleasant appearance, be fashionable and share the brand philosophy. As the salesman at American Apparel in Paris, Mike Bev-Modest, says that you will be asked to send three photographs of yourself before an invitation for an interview: a portrait with no signs of makeup and a couple in height. AA has a strict dress code. During the working day it is necessary to wear bright things that are now sold out - this contributes to the excitement and increases sales. Forbidden in the company: black, large tattoos, piercing. Girls should wear only American Apparel (this applies even to shoes and jewelry) and always emphasize the waist. Loose clothes are also forbidden for guys, too - if you have size M, then XL will not be given to you. The only cushion for young people - you can wear shoes of other brands. Most often choose classic Dr. Martens, they fit perfectly in style. Once a year, a general corporate event happens to all American Apparel employees. Anything can happen on it, including office romances! How else, if all the staff are young, beautiful and love to have fun?
This year, sales growth is observed only in America and France, other countries can not boast of it. Perhaps the case is ambiguous positioning and overpriced pricing. Why buy high-waisted, high-waisted jeans in American Apparel for a hundred dollars, if the same in Topshop costs twice as much? In addition, during the existence of the brand, it seems that all the hipsters of the world have already completed their wardrobe with AA clothes, and the brand does not offer new ideas. With the crisis of Charney as always struggling arrogant method of provocation. Literally this spring, mannequins appeared in AA windows with a complete lack of intimate epilation. According to American Apparel spokesman Ryan Holiday, the company thus invites passersby to reconsider their views on sexuality and show respect for the natural feminine look. After the scandalous dummies, the company's profit increased by 30 percent. In addition, the brand with a 20-year history is still developing new markets. For example, in 2012, when Tokyo Fashion Week became part of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, AA included their show in the schedule of the week, which is quite logical, given the strong shopping culture in Japan and the sensitivity of the Tokyo buyer to erotica.
For a long time, the Moscow fans of American Apparel were carrying a heap of gray workouts and basic T-shirts from each trip abroad. Everything changed in 2010 when the brand appeared in the Trends Brands corner of the Tsvetnoy department store. The choice of things, of course, is not as great as in Europe or America, but the fact itself is encouraging. This spring, the brand presented a series of belt bags and clutches, created together with AA especially for Russia. Trends Brands wrote endless letters to the headquarters of American Apparel, at some point the Americans could not stand the pressure and offered to make a collaboration themselves. Usually they sell leather products only in their own stores, but for the Russian company they made an exception. From the palette proposed by AA, we chose colors for each model and added the letter "T", referring to the name of Trends Brands.
Today, effortlessly making a pure provocation is not so easy. The company's loss for 2013 amounted to $ 122 million compared to $ 37 million a year earlier, and besides, the company has accumulated another $ 100 million of debts, which makes analysts from time to time put an end to the company, but they still give AA loans. This is not the first time American Apparel is on the verge of bankruptcy. The company is not going to give up the costly production in the suburbs of Los Angeles, while the employees at this factory receive almost the highest salary in their industry. In the struggle for brand survival, it was decided to take into account more massive trends. For example, following the example of Marc Jacobs and L'Oréal, they invited an age model to cooperate - 62-year-old Jackie O'Shaughnessy. This led to a flurry of publications in the press and due attention to the American brand. One can only hope that fans of Mom's jeans and cropped tops in daisies will not leave the company in trouble.
Photo: Flickr.com