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...

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.

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.

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

tremendous article!

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...

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.

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

I cannot see anything qrong with that- i liked the visuals and the aproach of choosing regular folks over celebs/models.

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.