The Neuroses of a T-Shirt Maker
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Poking around the archives of Gladwell.com I came across an April 2000 article on Dov Charney, creator of American Apparel. Aside from the fact his models are-well, they're AA models, and everyone knows about AA models-Dov is manic about tees. His goal is to produce the perfect t-shirt, American-bred by a Canadian-Korean consortium. You can't get any more melting pot than that. It's okay though, because these shirts are "creamy" (his words, not mine, but that'd be the word I would've used had Gladwell asked me first). I swear by these shirts...they feel that good, and the cut is right. Of course they're more expensive, but you get what you pay for.
It's always interesting to see inside the mind of social entrepreneurs, trendsetters, paradigm-shifters and the like. The fact Mr. Charney uses strippers to test fit shirts is but a footnote to his dedication to the craft of garment-making. I can get with that. It also underscores the brilliance of his business model, which is attracting attention across the globe. I'm partial to the sustainable edition, made of organic cotton. These are the ones they use over at Rewarestore...cool stylized graphics of wind turbines and soy sauce bottles and stuff like that.
Pay attention to your garments; the beauty is in the details.
posted by ek at
3:24 PM
2 Comments:
i'm dig the company a lot - sweatshop free- paying people a living wage/providing a healthy work environment & attempting to support sustainable farming - but i feel like a fuckin moron everytime i wear their shirts, what with the advertising campaign and such. those ads are s t u p i d, and {mostly} women are perpetuating it. i still wear them because it is the lesser evil? i mean, i guess i should feel like a bigger moron wearing something by nike. i'm not sure i can't not be a moron anymore, since i'm human and all. you know?
I feel you StarWar.... It's one of those situations where you look at the entire operation, or even the "life-cycle" of the garment. If it's made from organic cotton (in the case of the Sustainable Edition tees) in sweatshop-free conditions where the labor is fairly treated and paid, I don't mind paying a bit more. The issue with the models and perptuation of sexual stereotypes...that's a trickier one. Then again, I think most of em are hawt!
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