
Dov Charney's American Dream: The rise, fall and comeback of an apparel empire - petercooper
http://www.retaildive.com/news/dov-charney-american-apparel-rise-fall-comeback/445631/
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ChicagoBoy11
For those wanting a really intimate and interesting look at Dov's new venture,
Gimlet's "Start-up" did a great job profiling him over a few episodes.
Definitely worth a listen.

[https://gimletmedia.com/episode/part-1-labels-
season-4-episo...](https://gimletmedia.com/episode/part-1-labels-
season-4-episode-4/)

~~~
petercooper
Yes, listening to that whole (and amazingly reported) story was what caused my
interest to be piqued by this writeup. It covers a lot of similar ground, but
the Startup podcast was such a fun listen.

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eli
Always neat to see one of our articles on HN! Especially one where the team
worked really hard to make it happen. Dov doesn't give many interviews and the
page layout & design is all new.

~~~
petercooper
In case you're wondering, I was reminded about your sites in the thread about
profitable email newsletters which I only stumbled across today. Saw how deep
the Dov story went and just had to submit :-D

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HillaryBriss
word from a designer i know: many garments produced by American Apparel at the
end of Mr. Charney's reign were overpriced; poorly sewn (often with un-hemmed
un-finished edges); sometimes little more than a piece of stretch fabric
fashioned into a tube or a large rectangle; inconsistently sized and fit to
the customer.

also: the advertisements and commercials featured hyper-sexualized, semi-nude
models who were often regular employees.

it seemed to be an innovative way to run such a business but doing that sort
of thing in LA is quite possibly the wrong model nowadays.

a year or two back, the LA Times ran a story about some LA clothing
manufacturers leaving the city and relocating to El Paso, TX:
[http://www.latimes.com/business/la-me-korean-jobber-
market-2...](http://www.latimes.com/business/la-me-korean-jobber-
market-20150902-story.html)

~~~
stevewillows
the irregularities weren't only in the final days of Dov's reign. It did get
much worse, though. At times you'd get a shirt labeled medium, but it was
definitely a small.

One of the biggest issues I've had with AA over the years were the sleeves on
their hoodies. Often the stitching would leave you with a somewhat puffy seam,
which looks awful.

I'm hoping that Gildan will bring some consistency to the table without
changing the fabric or cuts.

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SeeDave
Dov Charney's record of outrageously inappropriate sexual misconduct is enough
for me to write him off at this point unless he undergoes intensive counseling
and/or rehabilitation. I have limited confidence in his ability to revive an
industry or create a healthy organization considering his age at the time of
his offenses. I wish him well, but really hope that he is able to receive
help.

