Will American soldiers have their nipples exposed? Will the neon make them easier targets? Those were just two of our questions when we heard the news that American Apparel—thanks to its "Made in the USA" mantra—had been chosen to supply jackets for the U.S. Army.

But in this case, American Apparel is not American Apparel because it's American Apparel.Continue reading...

American Apparel has been selling its wares in Japan for six years, generating enough sales and attention that the L.A.-based clothing manufacturer has been asked to participate in Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Tokyo, which kicks off on Oct. 15.

"We wanted to do something new this year and Tokyo is a city that is very open-minded to new, creative ideas, particularly when it comes to fashion,” stated Katherine Johnson, American Apparel's Japan operations manager. “We are honored to be one of the first brands without an appointed designer to show at a high-profile Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week like this." 

American Apparel operates four stores in Japan as well as an online and mobile store and an e-commerce platform with Amazon Japan, while “sales for the company are up 50% over 2011" in the market.

The brand has been under fire in its home market in recent years, but things appear to be calming down as it evolves from fashion weak to Fashion Week. The company posted a sales uptick of 24 percent in its retail stores and 19 percent in e-commerce sales in August, according to the Associated Press.

American Apparel is no stranger to controversy over the years, showcasing its "Made in America" (for now?) garments on young models, risqué poses, nudity and other provocative images that have given the brand and its Canadian founder, Dov Charney, a bad reputation — most of all as a businessman, with a lifeline investment by billionaire George Soros making headlines earlier this year.

Whether it's another way to be provocative or at least unexpected, the brand has been expanding its casting calls for models, staging a (disastrous) contest for plus-size models, hiring its first transgender model (in partnership with GLAAD, no less) and now upturning ageism with the new face for its "advanced basic" line: 60-year-old actress Jacky O’Shaughnessy, who was spotted by an AA staffer in New York.Continue reading...

Maybe he's a fan of the disco pant. Or maybe he's tired of advancing his "one world" socialist government crusade. Whatever's driving him, it seems George Soros is ready to bail out American Apparel.

According to the American Apparel of the newspaper business, The New York Post, "Crystal Financial, a Boston-based firm that boasts Soros’ hedge fund as its lead investor, will immediately replace and expand a $75 million revolving credit line from Bank of America." Of course, the paper did not pass up a chance to note that Soros, like American Apparel founder Dov Charney, shared a penchant for sexual harassment litigation.

But, like the billionaire's attempts to prop up the Obama regime, is it too little too late?Continue reading...

American Apparel apparently isn’t happy enough to just stick with clothing. The manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer of its own clothing lines has vastly expanded beyond cotton t-shirts. Expanding its make-up line, AA recently introduced nail polish and has now followed it up with its own collection of lip gloss.

With its acting president just quitting, the 22-year-old company is doing what it can these days to boost sales. It reported earlier this month a $7.2 million loss in the third quarter that ended Sept. 30, according to the Los Angeles Times. While that’s not good news, at least it wasn’t the $9.5 million lost in the same quarter in 2010.

Hoping to prove that when the going gets tough women pump up the lip color, AA's lip gloss will come in nine recession-busting colors, Apparel News reports, including the red-hued “Legalize LA” and pink-toned “Pantytime.”

“These are colors for everyone,” said Marsha Brady, the creatively-named creative director for American Apparel, according to Apparel News. “Over the last few months of color trials, employees were eager to see them and try them on, so we got to see how they performed on many different complexions. We’re really happy with how pretty and natural they look on everyone.”

The brand's controversy-seeking CEO and founder Dov Charney is, as you might imagine, pumped about the new line of lip gloss.Continue reading...

It's the kind of headline some brands could only dream to attract: "American Apparel risks porn charge with latest ad campaign." AA founder Dov Charney can only hope.

But it should be noted that those "charges" are not actual legal charges, but accusations, and those accusations are almost solely from a media that has formed a symbiotic relationship with the retailer in which American Apparel creates an ad, media (especially web-based) falls over itself to criticize the ads all while printing the increasingly salacious ads and selling advertising against the pageviews. Beautiful.

American Apparel faces a real threat, but it's not from conveniently aghast bloggers.Continue reading...

The epitaph for Dov Charney's American Apparel empire may already have been written (by us too!), but the once (and future?)Hipster Czar isn't going down without a fight ad campaign.

Here, we see Dov in Springtime, taking it easy with his employees, everyone involved fully clothed. Of course, this ad answers the question: Are misunderstood branding geniuses Macs, or PCs? Continue reading...

Despite what CEO Dov Charney has said to reporters, American Apparel can officially join the ever-growing list of retailers struggling in today's recession. Consumers are simply shying away from expensive products. American Apparel, with its signature jersey t-shirts costing an average of $20, is poised for trouble.

The American Apparel brand has had its fair share of problems this year, including employment issues with illegal immigrants. A discovery from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement forced the company to fire over 2,000 unauthorized workers. Such a loss affected production and led to the retailer's plummeting value – at $3.16, its stock has decreased by more than 50 percent since this time last year.Continue reading...