American Apparel’s Rebrand Says A Lot About Life After Bankruptcy

More than a year after American Apparel went bankrupt and shut down all 110 of its stores — a fleet that had bloomed to 281 locations during its heyday in the late aughts — the company is preparing to open a new shop. Just one, on Melrose in Los Angeles, the city where American Apparel made its name. The neighborhood where the new store will live is “good for emerging brands,” says Silvia Mazzucchelli, American Apparel’s vice president of direct-to-consumer sales. But an “emerging brand” isn’t what most would consider American Apparel. After going bankrupt twice, the company was bought by Canadian retailer Gildan Activewear in early 2017. When Gildan relaunched American Apparel later that year, its name was the same, but key aspects of its identity were missing; its guts were different. Read more at Vox.