282015 Claude ko - american apparel Claudine bo vio stories eke. contact Moot Your New Boss Jane, June/July 2004 ‘Thousands of prety young women are obsessed wih American Apparel's shins ome even mace aut wns iottie founder Claudine Ko ties keep him our of her pant He says seduces him hen toa him ke dit stones. We were stancing on 8 comer in New Yorks Lower East Side aera lng day of tudgng fom one of his Fetal sores oanoter. Attest between inoeseantintetuptons fom nis el phone, he laked maricaly about progressive labor issues, maniestdeshry, sexs, ‘eminism: he mercantie ves of his grandparents and soling home’ Bote spring ‘Water in Helimanes jae ae a child Moriveal Then he olde a story about humping a model fom the nuste mag Perfect 70 And thas how \endea up in 8 {fh doer eute ofthe trendy Maritme Hotal around 11pm. wth Dov Charney the 25- {year-old senior partner and founder of American Apparel none ofhis emale ‘omployees. asked him now ne relaxed (Fal sex ne says, setting ino 2 chair behind cloud of smoke. "love Ht.lamabitot 2 Gity guy, but people ke hat ightnow” Explaining exactly how the rest ofthe night unraveled is somewhat afi Los just, £2, he mae amployoe nolped him put ona show forme watched, yng to be fsojeebve. detached ~ sora Ike 8. war feparer? you aren fama with Arerican Apparel and Dov's mutton chopped, handlebar mustaches face you wl be soon enough. With arew push Formwholesae-on 10 fetal, Dov wan is $150 milion clothing company to become the Starbucks of T= his. Infact go into your coset and check your labels. Chances are you own atleast 8 couple of tie ogo toe orliing Classi Glee, customized by your favre. brand orindie cesigner emaybe youve noticed tet provocstvewidsle-pom Nee ads in Vice and othe allrnative rags. typical ad shows a gi wearing #8315 red boy bret, photograned tom her uppe: highs a her bare mel sng back on a laundry machine, and read in big blocx eters: SUNDAY AFTERNOON. WASHING MACHINE: CALIFORNIA. Down abi.n male print the Waderark SWEATSHOP FREE T-SHIRTS, MADEINLA, Criginaly rd wanted to wee about ne lives af garment workers. Ten Isaw one of tesimercan Apparel ads beckoning, “Come see what wo'e doing”"So tough ‘ron by het ocr and find out whetnera clothing manutseties realy cous Be proftable witout he standard appaling employment abuses. What | discovrod was hotoniy a company tying foe Be system, bul what Doveals an nds! revoluton® “Uhink sex motivates everything, “he says peering atme ftom behind his boxy 70s frames. n fact he essentially invented giy-cul printable tees afer an Argentinean ex ‘iiend toi tim she could stand wearing tose big, American Hard Rock ones Popularzed in he 80s. "lmatvates my work too. You dontwart someting at's Eexualy ven, ko panes, ut then nave them made ina homie sweatshop. Like, row my workers have a good timo. Mey dink ber, they have relaionsrip,tiey have genes “Plus he sede. "ts nto make money and pay people wal" Posted on fyere and his Web sit and saeening on TV monitors inhi viv meticulously cesigned fetal stores - a barage of propagansdisic words promoting the company ang Dovs new way of doing business. Wits own face prominently featured, he i ofdolaty heavy. “Idontbelieve in God. tm pure Jewish huster,"the Choate grad and Tuts Univers dropout sas, pacing the fice of one of his Mannatan sires. To me, there's no ober way Bulle bea capitalist. | dont ik the phraso"ewoetshop-f lnymare becalse ts cybaby. fs Buy fom Us because we'e tying harder 0 West he people bt \ihat itis to mois anche level of eicioncy. maka sure you pay ‘Wages thal ae interatnaly acceptable and thatyour business mose! doesn rely Upon tee cut labor neqalites that ae realy vosiges of he past” ‘when check outhe headquarters in downtown Los Angles, he environment realy ‘does seem pleasant The lai productonfoorsin he seven-story Inaustial ‘Warehouse are sunlight led spaces rn dean stacks of bight colored tes, massage therapists assuage employees muscle pais and pods ofineni germent ‘makers who nave optional healt cere packages, subsaizeg wansporation and Nee pula clausineko comsterlesamericanapparel Hm!asians Claude ko - american apparel Englieh-as-a second-language classes. During breaks, worker socialize and augh-I ‘spy. couple snagging ina salwell Andon Faaye, they ple no a sample sale Buy ther own goods at 1 lo S2 apiece, which s las nant $9 manuiacurng cost oftheir baie shtenatio mention the $18 rea its vory front nore, says Yosonia Sandoval, 22, a seamstoss. She came rom Meso five yoars ago, worked at anotyer factory tNen gota fb Nee asa Th ‘company ls much eeter han eather one. was recsiving mnimiam wage 8875 pet hour Hore we eain $12 $16 dant nk any company @ going f be beter han this ‘The more women Ita, the more Iwonderifteyve al been seaiced by Dov's 06d Gharama,"Iner'no ibe Dov insists ie a misconception to say fs. cus ‘sbout being fee. Ke aboutieling the bors, Fxyou." Mery Lupo, designer, has worked wh him for over five years and says ite more ea farty business wih 1.500 employees. "You can askhim fo Bort money and he usually dot she says." Amencan Apparels acl then democracy s 2 Cul Ms projet Is justan at project" Despite a ingerng cla, Dovinvtes me to hang out again a week ater our fret, meeting, He and is Alonzo, his Sve-Joateleven, Maggie Gllenhaal-esqve assistant land content advisor fm kind ofhie ton: ahs explains). a n Willamsbur, Brooklyn. checking cut more tal space. He says is uimate market canbe oundin hip neighoaroods lke fs one, the Lower East Se and Echo Parkin L.A. ie great {obeneara bookstore - near hiteligence says Dov. the son of anarehtet dad and lnistmom. egies ta noninstutonel communi fel" Troughout the evesing, Pe Intrers us wth octire upon lechre about burgeoning intemational yout cure {Questoning auhoriy, and Canale Paglia, Aldinner, Dovjoxes in a chai one ‘inion he ofan uses, that mf “dota When tne watress comes ind mse “automaticaly ordring for bol of us, lke Im his mom or somating. At mdnight. when Isleaveste hang out witha tend Dov gets cisely quiet “Keep me in your pocket, Callme Ifyou nces anyning" she says, giving Nim act his cell phane. So Dov an! {ake a car back othe madest wo-bedroom apartment he rated fe avoid being stuck inthe hotel forthe rst of heme hoe on business, Ovton the sidewalk he foclos ‘nh he keys belore ealzing were atthe wrong door, explaining have te st time nes acualy opened iis usually does tor him Upstairs, we sit across fom eachother ata coe table thats tered wit vintage 70s lamps, Sudatod, a ollie paper and is laptop. Soon enough, he loosens Ns Petre Carain bal "Are you going to do it again?” ask “Can ne says, adjusting himsetin his chaic ‘An thus begins ancter compulsive episode of what Dov Ikes to call se pleasure ‘uring which we easually cary on eur inerew, iscassing things Hike business macels hing pracsces and We sip o! focus groupe. ‘Mastubaton in font of women is underrated” Dov explains o me late over the phone. "fs much easier on the woman. She gts ts watch, fsa sensual experence {hatdoeentinvelvea man volatng a woman, yetonce the man hae hs release its ‘ver and you ca alco the guy." And, Fs adden another day hk ealy heathy to have an orgasm four imes @ aay Is goto be grea for business" nis {partmonttratrigh when he fishes, he romply turns backto reading th stot hie-mall Hs in-box olds 21.547 messages, he clexs on ane tat saplays 4 photo ‘ofa twentysomething Asien a wearing tah jeans ying in bed. Her message reeds, “mS, 108 pounds, eustsize 328-C. Pus, m professional, asd.” Dov says he gets an eral ko tis every 48 nours rom women waning t wor or i, ‘Overall. his company is almost yy genderavise and women fia lot ofthe higher poston, Ofcourse, he also has ons of tractive, diverse models any ofwnom Ste gis nos recrtod onthe steet“TSome]mightsay fal hs gi wih he bg ts the rignigi, bli look picture o you rghtnow” Yaute i youre te Classic Gl ‘You look beaut, Youve relaxed you sania; your hai oxs great, youre faking nates. Your but ooks good” |e come across photos of Spring Hemandez, hom he meta hotel racop partyin LLA.a couple of years ago. Ato wae o o dnks, he asked ake some pictures” ‘Spring, 28 10d me during my CAM. “He had a bag of lothes and he's like," ust ‘want fake one picture." One tamed ine who-enows-now many unt secur aly ‘shed Dov to leave. A couple of days later. Spring was suprised t find that he photos were already on his Web ate, "Tvae ma — wei jst had Ws great nveraton about ehhics and there was my picture" she sais. He nt ll me. {alled him and he made everyting okay afer halFan-hourofkssing my but” sho now runs his Echo Park store ans featured ina #8370 witfpink baby ib isn bra ‘essully puting ther ong, dark nar ona glan billboard over Sunset Boulevara “The picture rom tat day tay fe met, Dov scrolls through more shots ofrandom women, models and employees, “Look at this cute gi"he says of one who works inte Monteal ofce. "wanted her so bad) never causes drama?"1 ask ‘Damn ght does. You gota be very caets--certan gis can hana, cartln cant’ He dicts on a ferent older. "Heres a plcure af my granameters place pu clausineko comsterlesamericanappare im!22015 Claude ko - american apparel Look how cool her ute fe, Shes righton point ‘She as homy as you are?” No, says as we both rack up. "Ae you?” Allin all,Dov nas had serious relasonships wir only tee of is employees — all ‘ute clear-faced young women, Pst there was Nikki Yang, whom he hires way back in 1095, wen, he says hero weroro gifs hey were operating fom South CCaralina and "were dying alll imes” She now the eastom-order manager and marlad Marc Victor tom ast March Then tere was Merci, whore say 8 {he only gi he thoughthe could marry. Afar a cremate sertlong/irm afar, she found someone else and broke up wit him. He was so devastate, ne could come tothe ofc for weeks, and when he tral retumes, Would openly weep in Ne always. Ste was adamant about Keeping Weriy with the company. m proud ‘hatithappens and were abl fo deal wit he say. "mot saying wanttoscrow alte gis at work -fmnota xin madman, But fallin love at werk, going be beaut and sewual” ‘And currant, ter le Tia Sheldon, who Wes in London, where American Apparel ‘opening a sore, along with ones already or about io open in Moneal, LA, Now ‘York Fankhitand Berin. She was aking 9 break om school wen she wa asked to medal forthe company ata clothing vad show. The night fey met he had an {sslstantinvta hero his hosel room. "Tthought twas weird” Thida, 22 says ner Biiksh accent. "bul ove word. mnollike oer gris. People wee ie, Be care he's waking erection: wanted to know wnat a walking erecton fo went to Ns ‘oom and heUst stars talking about his company, yng on his bea, tke an emperor, really atease."Deja Wu “Eisenhower chic, thats te look tm going fr" Dov says, desenbing his personal syle. Though on same days Ike the maming he ifs met go ea marke shopping and opened is apariment door wearing #1301 pine|ersey P= Shorts, a lemonyellow try top, pops and a QUEBEC bucket hat ~ he looks more Ike 270s olerderby candy gil gone thin. Ale days ater he's na pa of beige ‘riage Les Si-Pret sacks ~svangely, Lawn te exact same pans--and he ery ‘hitagain while we cise he stole and nanry-raffeed sidewaks ofNew Yorks Upper WestSide witha rea state broke. "Al ese older busness people, forthe most par, are playing Ward of "he says. "We don realy know wha Bil Gates ‘he dontknow what ure Bush's eank Ise into beetallyorihar?ecaure cant lustbe te guy’ playing to Goa" We checkout he etal spots ofa Barana Republic fad Baby Gap belo stopping into another eothing ste. Aline of cadboaré Boxes sloppy sted wih sale ams greets Us near he entrance. "Whais is 2 ‘loseout garage sale?” Dov says. "A bigger story is why a company the tis isnt ‘rating Noli [get of OF course 180, Mats ew” ‘Alexandra Spunt 24, met Dov when she nlerviewed hin for @ Canadian paper. At the {nd he sla, You sound cool Waybe we couls war ogeier" Winn a month, shed {ulther job. raved ‘a LA and stated workng 2s his assstantoven spending a short Dero platoncal living wit him while looking fr her own place. alex now helps Bov wih advertising conten, hiring photography, youneme it side te fecorys art ‘Separtment we lok at an ad where tere a series ofpotos of Tha area bikn= And-bret seth the fal shot, she's plucking her bikin ne. "Ttmakes funny” Alex ‘xolains."We get med etesam Women saying hey love that we danse eal models. Or Youre socially conscious, but explaing women: Talsagree. tsa tn line (Ofeource the women are sexuaized in the images, bul Idontink anyhig’s wrong ‘nth ha ts not ust about being socially conscouy fe about being a protable ‘company."n anefe’ ad, Thda ana an equaly nubile git ae lounging on beech hare, stipped down fo #8201 hot shorts and nothing eles Te sagan reads (CAREFREE, COMFORTABLE, COTTON, YOU CAN FEEL HOW GOOD IT LOOKS, owe ata because its ny gtiens” Dov says, “Tiga was comtortabe wi i, ana ward to mle sur twas kosher rh @ woman ust So he coneuted one of his artgoparmenterployeas. ‘She was tke, "Can be init 907” Thida says. We ended up both going naked on the porch in font at everyone. twas kan, man twas aay” ‘when lrecountales about Dove fends, fen tnd myseon he defensive. a time when te FCC and cansrvatve corporate powers are aoivanly censoring basle {ul Hbertes, Oovs candor refreshing. And tse woman whe work win him gti, “You ean hank me ane ts an Alex Dov says of his enlghtenea company vision, “We a have ou king d-kin fs hotustane o-k: Anem, “Were he kind of gis that would buy fom this company 24-oF25-year-lds who snow whats up Alex says. "Tras why he Holds ont us te way he does. We're his ‘demographic Dov nat sexist He wants nobng lo do wih PC Backlaen, He rejects ‘amy-205 feminism. Sure, he might came across as ofensive, but vuntly, he realy respecte vlmion who workhere. And he woulé never hut anybody's never Inastubatedin fon ofme." ma bitsurprised fo near tal Dov has prety uch ot Everyone sui his moter about beating of forthe reporter. Even Thide knows, ‘tough sno also isnt really bothered by ‘Maybe ithe wasnt where nes now, hold be one oF hese perverts onthe subway. she says. "Bulthisis nis empire, ana when {youre wits, ne welcomes you nahi fe. Thats why It him do ese things, ‘And so long athe gis are okay and nave fun, fs great Ga fort man” After a mont ofwe ching Dov whee! and des! mutimion-dolar eal ete pu clausineko comsterlesamericanappare im!asians Claude ko - american apparel ‘xolain the minuae of wo-needle ans bing hems. patonze fullservice massege Dare belore sipping Qverto an evening affine kosher dining, and “please” himseteght orso mes, startto wonder nen the Twilght Zone marabon s going {oe over We've juste por shop near Times Square, where hes planing lo ‘pon another stor. and fm thinking its me o go home. [bil Nesta ashe halls {ead heading downtown, knowing he newadle rats ofPs ight are slo, Un, ome, Then as stp nto he depts of me backseat Irealze dont want his ip to end just yet To read my October 2006 fllowup story, please cick her. pu clausineko comsterlesamericanappare im!