Not a good week for apparel companies: First we heard that Nasty Gal #girlboss Sophia Amoruso is no longer boss, and the company may be filing for bankruptcy. And now, the American Apparel that we all knew and loved (or loathed) is pretty much kaput. After tough times in recent years with store closures and attempts at corporate restructuring, the L.A. brand is back into bankruptcy and, we learned today, has officially sold off the name and intellectual property to Gilden.
Once a powerhouse of the local garment sector—and, some would argue, a major player in the turn-around of the Arts District—American Apparel has been plagued with issues for years. From the negative attention brought on the company by controversial CEO Dov Charney, who was ousted back in 2014 and is currently involved in a lawsuit accusing the company of illegal conspiracy, to recent seasons of designs that just didn’t seem to connect with shoppers, the writing has been on the wall with this one for a while.
Gilden, the Canadian tee shirt giant that has bought out the American Apparel brand, told the L.A. Times that they have negotiated for the rights to keep some portion of the company’s manufacturing, distribution and warehouse operations in place in Los Angeles. However, financial experts suggest that it seems unlikely that much of the cut-and-sew floor will remain quite as it has been once the minimum wage increases go into effect. Gilden expressed no interest in the brand’s remaining retail storefronts.
For his part, Dov Charney himself is still in the knitwear game. Earlier this year, he launched a new company, still making tees in Los Angeles.
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