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Originally posted by gregor View Posthttp://www.bbc.com/news/business-34441143
maybe this deserves it's own thread, but american apparel filed for chapter 11 this morning.
there are two books that are VERY important to read if you truly want to understand the (modern) fashion industry and how a company like this could possibly end up this way
1. the end of fashion by Teri Agins
2. the Designer Scam by Colin McDowell
“You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
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Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock
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I think the problem was two-fold.
A) The obvious is the overexpansion - opening stores everywhere without the logistical and capital support.
B) The founder's personality - he wanted to be the new Terri Richardson and Oliver Zahm. But, guess what - the apparel world is not the fashion publishing world. AA's primary customer is the hipster. And the female hipster holds feminist values dear (and so do their boyfriends, whether they want to or not) and Dov Charney has alienated a ton of customers by his despicable behavior towards women.
Had they opened fewer stores and pushed the fair labor practices agenda, as they should have - the company would be alive and kicking. It had the potential to be the next Uniqlo and they fucked it up royally.Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde
StyleZeitgeist Magazine
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Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde
StyleZeitgeist Magazine
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Originally posted by zamb View Postthere are two books that are VERY important to read if you truly want to understand the (modern) fashion industry and how a company like this could possibly end up this way
1. the end of fashion by Teri Agins
2. the Designer Scam by Colin McDowell
it's not that surprising though, considering that it's been a long time
coming. i'm not hugely convinced that charney's behaviour is as big an effect as that, though it is for the informed customer. it's never good publicity to be a dick, either way, though.
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Originally posted by Faust View PostI think the problem was two-fold.
A) The obvious is the overexpansion - opening stores everywhere without the logistical and capital support.
B) The founder's personality - he wanted to be the new Terri Richardson and Oliver Zahm. But, guess what - the apparel world is not the fashion publishing world. AA's primary customer is the hipster. And the female hipster holds feminist values dear (and so do their boyfriends, whether they want to or not) and Dov Charney has alienated a ton of customers by his despicable behavior towards women.
Had they opened fewer stores and pushed the fair labor practices agenda, as they should have - the company would be alive and kicking. It had the potential to be the next Uniqlo and they fucked it up royally.
Certainly AA was popular and people loved some of their stuff, but if you really looked through their whole inventory there were massive swaths of things that just werent appealing to most people.
Endless neon colors, DEEP v neck tees, bruce campbell-esque Hawaiian shirt prints for $70, etc. They made too many items in too many colors and the design quality just wasent there.
Some of this stuff has been sitting in their sale section for *years*
I still love American Apparel to this day for their retro basics... big placket polos, denim jackets, high waist jeans. But I can count on one hand the number of recent (and I mean last 12-18 months) items that have been truly great.
We also shouldnt discount the massive rise of fast fashion, which happened almost in parallel with AA's popularity or the quality controls that they have always had.
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But their quality controls consisted of using domestic sweatshop labor rather than outsourced sweatshop labor, as far as I'd understood it? I certainly wouldn't place them outside fast fashion, if anything they seem to be one of its shrewder operators.
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Originally posted by Arkady View PostBut their quality controls consisted of using domestic sweatshop labor rather than outsourced sweatshop labor, as far as I'd understood it? I certainly wouldn't place them outside fast fashion, if anything they seem to be one of its shrewder operators.
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It's not a potshot, there were tons of editorials / exposes about this a few years ago. They just had similar setups to a Laotian plant in downtown LA from what I recall.
Their share price was also hit when they were found to be using illegal workers en mass. http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/...64I4CT20100519
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Actually, the problem with AA was the fact that the company's shareholders blindsided Dov and fired him and his team and took over all operations, of which they had no clue about how to run.
This is a great article into what happened - http://www.businessinsider.com.au/do...apparel-2015-8
I believe the board members set up AA to fail. Some of the shareholders and board members ran other major competing brands so it would be no surprise to see them sell their shares and burn AA to the ground with Dov along with it and to spite him, leave him penniless.
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Originally posted by scanner View PostThis is a great article into what happened - http://www.businessinsider.com.au/do...apparel-2015-8
He is a mixed bag for sure. I think the Business Insider article is right about one thing - the fact that all of the sexual exploits have come to light have now spoiled his chances of returning. Most boards wouldnt support him. As hard working as he may be, his behavior is inexcusable.
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Originally posted by vtlynch View PostI think those were certainly problems, but perhaps something much more basic is being overlooked: Their style just wasent digestible for most people.
Certainly AA was popular and people loved some of their stuff, but if you really looked through their whole inventory there were massive swaths of things that just werent appealing to most people.
Endless neon colors, DEEP v neck tees, bruce campbell-esque Hawaiian shirt prints for $70, etc. They made too many items in too many colors and the design quality just wasent there.
Some of this stuff has been sitting in their sale section for *years*
I still love American Apparel to this day for their retro basics... big placket polos, denim jackets, high waist jeans. But I can count on one hand the number of recent (and I mean last 12-18 months) items that have been truly great.
We also shouldnt discount the massive rise of fast fashion, which happened almost in parallel with AA's popularity or the quality controls that they have always had.Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde
StyleZeitgeist Magazine
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Originally posted by Faust View PostA fantastic article on Balmain by John Colapinto for the New Yorker.
I had no doubts that Rousteing is a tart, and this only confirms it.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/12/trending
Her mother fetched a small foam pad, and Kylie lowered herself back into position. Rousteing whispered in Sorrenti’s ear.
“Put your hand on Kendall’s breast,” Sorrenti said, “as if you’re pushing her away.”
Kylie laid her hand on her sister’s chest.
“Kendall,” Sorrenti said, “grab Kylie’s fringe.”
Kendall grasped the fringe hanging from Kylie’s shoulder, as if she were pulling her sister down on top of her. Sorrenti fired shots as the models stared, expressionless, into his camera. He told them to look into each other’s eyes, and they complied. “A little closer,” he said. They moved their faces together until they nearly touched. “Great!” he said. “That’s great!”
During a break, Kendall and Kylie, in white bathrobes and slippers, sat thumbing their iPhones, while Rousteing talked about the shoot. When it was suggested that the photos had a provocative subtext, he put on a puzzled look. The theme, he said, was “sisters.” He went on, “What I love about fashion, it’s not only the clothes. It’s putting a vision, and I think the sisters’ story—the love between a family—is really something that is going to help fashion. To create beautiful stories in different ways.” Jenner, expressionless behind her dark glasses, looked on and nodded.
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