❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now

Marketing shift now on American Apparel’s laundry list

Janet Nguyen Jun 10, 2015

American Apparel plans to hang its sexually charged marketing strategy out to dry.

Removing the raciness from its ads and “streamlining its offerings” are all a part of the clothing company’s plans to revamp brand associated with suggestive poses, sexual innuendo and a scandal-ridden founder. 

Operation rebrand comes several months after a power shift. Former American Apparel CEO Dov Charney — a controversial figure with several sexual harassment lawsuits to his name — was ousted in December, with former Warnaco executive Paula Schneider taking his place in January.  

The clothing company will aim to position itself in a “positive, inclusive, socially conscious light” — an ethos pretty different from the one promoted under Charney’s reign.   

“Sex is inextricably linked to fashion and apparel,” Charney told Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal in an interview last year.


Listen to Kai Ryssdal’s extended interview with Dov Charney below: 

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.