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Dov Charney

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Dov Charney
Dov Charney in 2008
Born (1969-01-31) January 31, 1969 (age 55)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Dov Charney (born January 31, 1969) is a Canadian entrepreneur and clothing manufacturer.[1][2] He was the CEO of Yeezy in 2023, and the founder of American Apparel,[3] which was one of the largest garment manufacturers in the United States until its bankruptcy in 2015.[4] Charney was fired from American Apparel due to numerous allegations including sexual harassment, racism, and sexual assault.[5] Charney subsequently founded Los Angeles Apparel.[6]

Early life

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Charney was born in Montreal, Quebec on January 31, 1969.[7] His parents, Morris, an architect, and his mother, Sylvia, an artist of Syrian descent, divorced when he was young.[8][9][10] Charney is a nephew of architect Moshe Safdie.[11] Charney is dyslexic and was diagnosed with ADD in kindergarten.[7]

He attended Choate Rosemary Hall, a private boarding school in Connecticut[12] and St. George's School of Montreal.[13] According to Charney, he was heavily influenced by both Montreal culture and his own Jewish heritage.[11][14]

While attending high school in the United States, Charney began importing Hanes and Fruit of the Loom t-shirts from the U.S. to his friends in Canada. In an interview with Vice, he described smuggling the shirts on Amtrak trains from New York to Montreal.[15]

American Apparel

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Charney began selling t-shirts under the American Apparel name in 1989.[16] In 1990, he dropped out of Tufts University, borrowed $10,000 from his parents and established American Apparel in South Carolina.[17] Over the next several years, he spent time learning about manufacturing and wholesale before moving to Los Angeles in the mid-'90s. By 1997, Charney had moved all manufacturing into a factory located in downtown Los Angeles.[18] American Apparel products were marketed towards "young metropolitan adults."[19]

The company had about $12 million in sales by 2001. In 2003, Charney opened the first store in L.A.'s Echo Park neighborhood, followed by one each in New York and Montreal. Within two years, the company had expanded to Europe and opened 65 new stores. By 2006, there were 140 total stores.[20]

In 2009, it expanded to 281 total retail locations, making it "the fastest retail roll-out in American history."[21] In 2014, the company reported record sales of $634 million.[citation needed]

Ad campaigns

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American Apparel under Charney's leadership was known for its simple and provocative ads, which rarely used professional models and whom were often chosen personally by Charney from local hangouts and stores.[22] He shot many of the advertisements himself[23] and was criticized for featuring models in sexually provocative poses. The campaigns were also lauded for honesty and lack of airbrushing.[24][25]

In 2012, the company made headlines when it debuted an ad campaign featuring 62-year-old model Jacky O'Shaughnessy.[26]

American Apparel again stirred controversy in 2014 when they displayed mannequins with pubic hair in the window of their Lower East Side store. The company told Elle Magazine:[27]

American Apparel is a company that celebrates natural beauty, and the Lower East Side Valentine's Day window continues that celebration. We created it to invite passerbys to explore the idea of what is 'sexy' and consider their comfort with the natural female form. This is the same idea behind our advertisements, which avoid many of the photoshopped and airbrushed standards of the fashion industry. So far we have received positive feedback from those that have commented, and we're looking forward to hearing more points of view.

Activism

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Legalize LA

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Main article: Legalize LA

Legalize LA was an immigration reform campaign conceived by Charney and promoted by American Apparel beginning in 2004. The campaign featured billboards and full-page ads, as well as t-shirts with the words "Legalize LA." Proceeds from the sale of the shirts were donated to immigration reform advocacy groups. The campaign called for the overhaul of immigration laws so as to create a legal path for undocumented workers to gain citizenship in the United States.[1][2]

Legalize Gay

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In November 2008, after the passing of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriages in California, Dov Charney and American Apparel created "Legalize Gay" T-shirts to hand out to protesters at rallies. The positive reaction led American Apparel to sell the same shirts in stores and online.[28][non-primary source needed]

Factory conditions

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In an interview with Vice.tv, Charney spoke out against the poor treatment of fashion workers in developing countries and refers to the practices as "slave labor" and "death trap manufacturing." Charney proposed a "Global Garment Workers Minimum Wage" and discussed many of the inner workings of the modern fast fashion industry practices that creates dangerous factory conditions and disasters.[29]

Charney's own factories have been heavily scrutinized for labor violations. In 2020, public health officials ordered the shut-down of Los Angeles Apparel due to "flagrant violations of mandatory public health infection control orders." Charney was able to sidestep the initial lockdown measures and keep employees from unemployment benefits by reopening as an essential business making and selling masks. 300 workers were infected with COVID-19 and 4 workers died before the factory was ordered to close.[30]

Workers were also made to sign agreements releasing Charney and American Apparel from all legal claims against him or the company. These claims forced employees to go through mandatory arbitration, an internal process, and prevented lawsuits alleging workplace abuse from entering the public court system.[6]

Termination

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American Apparel publicly suspended Charney on 18 June 2014, stating that they would terminate him for cause in 30 days. The termination letter given to Charney alleged that he had engaged in conduct that repeatedly put himself in a position to be sued by numerous former employees for claims that include harassment, discrimination, and assault.[6]

Paula Schneider, who took over as company CEO, stated that Charney was fired for violating sexual harassment and anti-discrimination policies and for misuse of corporate assets.[31]

Charney was "blindsided" by news of his termination, calling it a "coup." In court filings by his attorneys, it was alleged that the American Apparel CFO had planned to oust Charney, and that he was persuaded to sign a disastrous settlement that left him with no job and no control of the company, despite being the largest shareholder. Charney alleged that the investigation was biased on the grounds that it was conducted by those who benefitted from an outcome that weighed in their favor. Charney asserted that he has never been charged with any crime or found guilty or liable for any of the accusations against him.[6]

In December 2014, Charney was terminated as a chief executive officer after months of suspension. In December 2014, Charney told Bloomberg Businessweek he was down to his last $100,000 and that he was sleeping on a friend's couch in Manhattan.[32] Following his suspension as CEO in the summer of 2014, Charney teamed up with the Standard General hedge fund to buy stocks of the company to attempt a takeover.[33] In 2016, American Apparel board dismissed a $300 million offer from Hagan Group that pushed for Charney's comeback.[34]

In the wake of his dismissal, reports of Charney's management style emerged. Business Inside stated that Charney was unable to install a mature operational infrastructure to keep the company running smoothly, and didn't establish management bench strength for American Apparel.[6] Andrew Ross Sorkin, writing for the New York Times stated that Charney "should have been gone long ago, face of the brand or not."[35]

Los Angeles Apparel

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In 2016, Charney founded Los Angeles Apparel. He opened its first factory in South Central Los Angeles, with aims of replicating the successes he experienced in the 1990s with supplying wholesale clothing. The origins are similar to those he deployed while expanding American Apparel.[36] When interviewed by Vice News regarding his new venture, Charney said, "my previous company had an effect on the culture of young adults...I want to reconnect and do that again before I die".[37]

The company grew to over 350 staff during the second year of operation. During an interview with Bloomberg, Charney drew comparisons to the growth he experienced with American Apparel calling it the equivalent of "year eight". Charney expected the fashion line to grow to $20 million in revenue by 2018.[36]

Similar to American Apparel, the manufacturing of all Los Angeles Apparel garments are kept in the US to maintain low lead times and offer better completion times than overseas competitors.[38]

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Charney repurposed his business operations to help increased demand for PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).[39] According to the Los Angeles Times, Charney spotted shortages as early as February and this is when his apparel company began to consider manufacturing face masks.[40]

Charney was interviewed in March 2020 by a number of media outlets, speaking about his desire to turn Los Angeles Apparel into a medical equipment manufacturer during the pandemic. Los Angeles Apparel then began manufacturing face masks and medical gowns at the facility in South Central. Charney told The New York Times that he aimed to create 300,000 masks and 50,000 gowns each week.[41] In an interview, Charney said he was "losing money on the venture," as he was giving many of them away.[42]

In 2020, public health officials ordered the shut-down of Los Angeles Apparel due to "flagrant violations of mandatory public health infection control orders." Charney was able to sidestep the initial lockdown measures and keep employees from unemployment benefits by reopening as an essential business making and selling masks. 300 workers were infected with COVID-19 and 4 workers died before the factory was ordered to close.[30]

Allegations of sexual harassment and assault

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Charney has been the subject of several sexual harassment lawsuits, at least five since the mid-2000s, including allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, racist remarks, and abusive behavior against numerous employees.[43][44][45][46] He has been accused of sexually harassing employees as young as 17.[47] Due to employees signing documents revoking legal claims against Charney or the company, many lawsuits were thrown out by the courts and had to go through internal arbitration at American Apparel.[6]

Charney denied the allegations, accusing lawyers in the lawsuits against American Apparel of extortion.[48][49][50][51][52] Charney has said numerous times that he sees no problem with sexually pursuing his employees.[53][54]

In 2004, Claudine Ko of Jane magazine[55] published an essay narrating that Charney began masturbating in front of her while she was interviewing him.[24][56][57][54] The article's publication brought extensive press to Charney. In a follow-up to her first article, Ko wrote that her article had been misconstrued, stating that her encounter with Charney "was being used to feed a flawed cliche where men are evil and omnipotent while women are mute victims lacking free will." She further questioned the notion that she had been taken advantage of: "Who was really exploited? We both were—American Apparel got press, I got one hell of a story. And that's it." Ko did not ever claim Charney masturbating in front of her was consensual.[58]

Personal life

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Charney lives in Garbutt House, a mansion atop a hill in Silver Lake.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "American Apparel takes stand on immigration". Reuters. 28 October 2008.
  2. ^ a b Story, Louise (18 January 2008). "Politics Wrapped in a Clothing Ad". The New York Times.
  3. ^ "Somehow, Kanye Found Someone Worse to Be YEEZY CEO". Highsnobiety. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  4. ^ "The rise and fall of American Apparel". the Guardian. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  5. ^ Hsu, Tiffany; Khouri, Andrew (23 June 2015). "American Apparel makes graphic allegations about former CEO". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Edwards, Jim. "Inside the 'conspiracy' that forced Dov Charney out of American Apparel". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Holson, Laura (13 April 2011). "He's Only Just Begun to Fight". THe New York Times. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  8. ^ Jewish Journal, Unfashionable Crisis, 29 July 2005.
  9. ^ Charney, Dov. "Here's The Autobiography Of The Controversial CEO American Apparel Just Fired". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  10. ^ Holson, Laura M. (13 April 2011). "He's Only Just Begun to Fight". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  11. ^ a b Silcoff, Mireille. "A real shirt-disturber: Dov Charney conquered America with his fitted t-shirts and posse of strippers". Saturday Post. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  12. ^ Haskell, Kari (18 September 2006). "An Interview With American Apparel Founder Dov Charney". Debonair Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  13. ^ St. George Alumni Archived 22 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Morissette, Caroline (1 April 2005). "Dov Charney at McGill". Bull and Bear. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  15. ^ Friedersdorf, Conor (5 June 2013). "How the Head of American Apparel Got His Start: Smuggling Tees into Canada on Amtrak". The Atlantic.
  16. ^ Lewis, Tanya. "CORPORATE CASE STUDY: Big-mouthed, big-hearted leader brings apparel outfit notoriety". www.prweek.com. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  17. ^ "Dov Charney's American Dream: The rise, fall and comeback of an apparel empire". Retail Dive. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Segment of Modern Marvels: Cotton". The History Channel via AmericanApparel.net. Archived from the original on 21 December 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
  19. ^ Jamie Wolf (23 April 2006). "And You Thought Abercrombie & Fitch Was Pushing It?". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
  20. ^ "American Apparel: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of an All-American Business". The Fashion Law. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Dov Charney's American Dream: The rise, fall and comeback of an apparel empire". Retail Dive. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  22. ^ Rapoport, Adam (June 2004). "T (Shirts) and A". GQ. "What makes American Apparel's female models so appealing is that most of them are not models. They are girls whom Charney meets at bars, restaurants, trade shows—pretty much anywhere."
  23. ^ Palmeri, Christopher (27 June 2005). "Living on the Edge at American Apparel". Businessweek. Archived from the original on 24 March 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2008. "Charney takes many of the photos himself, often using company employees as models as well as people he finds on the street."
  24. ^ a b Stossel, John (2 December 2005). "Sexy Sweats Without the Sweatshop". ABC News. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  25. ^ Morford, Mark (24 June 2005). "Porn Stars in My Underwear". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 10 March 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  26. ^ Chernikoff, Leah Rose (19 February 2014). ""Legs in the Air? Great, Let's Go": Jacky O'Shaughnessy on Modeling for American Apparel at 62". ELLE. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  27. ^ Matthews, Natalie (16 January 2014). "American Apparel Tells Us Why They're Using Mannequins With Pubic Hair". ELLE. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  28. ^ "American Apparel | Legalize Gay". Legalize Gay. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  29. ^ VICE (29 May 2013). "Dov Charney on Modern Day Sweat Shops: VICE Podcast 006". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  30. ^ a b Gibson, Kate (13 July 2020). "Los Angeles Apparel's factory shut after 300 workers contract coronavirus". CBS News.
  31. ^ "Former American Apparel CEO Dov Charney Speaks Out for First Time Since Ouster". ABC News. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  32. ^ "American Apparel Founder Says He's Down to Last $100,000". Bloomberg.com. 22 December 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  33. ^ Peterson, Hayley. "Ousted American Apparel CEO Dov Charney Claims He Was Robbed By A Hedge Fund". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  34. ^ "What happened when Dov Charney tried to get American Apparel back". The Independent. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  35. ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross (24 June 2014). "Realizing the American Apparel Chief, Dov Charney, Isn't Wearing Any Clothes". DealBook. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  36. ^ a b Townsend, Matthew (12 July 2017). "Dov Charney Couldn't Keep American Apparel, So He Restarted It". Bloomberg.
  37. ^ Derrick, Jayson (14 September 2017). "Remember American Apparel's Dov Charney? He's Back With A New Business Idea". Benzinga. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  38. ^ Abarbanel, Aliza. "Dov Charney Is Back Making Sexualized Basics". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  39. ^ "How your business can help fight coronavirus: One brand's pivot to making masks". FastCompany. 23 March 2020.
  40. ^ Schmidt, Ingrid (24 March 2020). "Fashion brands are making face masks, medical gowns for the coronavirus crisis". Los Angeles Times.
  41. ^ Testa, Jessica (21 March 2020). "Christian Siriano and Dov Charney Are Making Masks and Medical Supplies Now". The New York Times.
  42. ^ Pierce, Tony (2 April 2020). "Dov Charney's New Passion: Face Masks". Los Angeleno.
  43. ^ Holson, Laura M. (23 March 2011). "Dov Charney of American Apparel Named in Harassment Suit". The New York Times.
  44. ^ Brennan, Ed (18 May 2009). "Woody Allen reaches $5m settlement with head of American Apparel". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 May 2009. Quote: "Charney has been involved in several highly-publicised sexual harassment suits brought by former employees, none of which were proven."
  45. ^ Sefton, Eliot (3 September 2009). "Dov Charney's LA-based clothing company loses 1,600 staff and sees yet another advert banned". The First Post. Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2009. Charney has been the subject of several, unproven, sexual harassment suits and claims to have been victimised by the media in the past. He said that he used Woody Allen in his company's ads because he wanted to draw attention to the way he and Allen—both high-profile Jews—had been treated.
  46. ^ "American Apparel CEO Dov Charney's 'Sex Slave' Lawsuit Thrown Out". The Huffington Post. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  47. ^ Goldhill, Olivia (20 June 2014). "Sacked American Apparel boss: the exploits that didn't get him fired". The Telegraph.
  48. ^ American Apparel CEO: Tattered, but Not Torn Archived 20 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine CNBC.com Jane Wells 4/10/12 "The company is also trying to recover from a litany of lawsuits against Charney, including a sex slave lawsuit that was thrown out last month"
  49. ^ Holson, Laura (13 April 2011). "He's Only Just Begun to Fight". THe New York Times. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  50. ^ Heller, Matthew (28 October 2008). "Fashion Mogul 'Fakes' Arbitration in Harassment Case". On Point. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2008. The 'confidential arbitration' was in fact a charade. One of Nelson's attorneys, the 2nd District said, later described it as 'a 'fake arbitration' designed to produce a press release calculated to blunt negative media attention.'
  51. ^ Slater, Dan (4 November 2008). "The Story Behind American Apparel's Sham Arbitration". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 November 2008. The court went on to say that 'the proposed press release is materially misleading — among other things, no real arbitration of a dispute occurred and [the] plaintiff received $1.3 million in compensation.'
  52. ^ "Ex-workers say American Apparel posted nude pix online". Reuters. April 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  53. ^ Freeman, Hadley (10 September 2017). "American Apparel founder Dov Charney: 'Sleeping with people you work with is unavoidable'". The Guardian.
  54. ^ a b "american apparel". Claudinenko.com. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  55. ^ Nesvig, Kara (4 October 2007). "Unkempt, Urban, Ubiquitous". Minnesota Daily. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2008. Archived at americanapparel.net Archived 18 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  56. ^ "Sexy marketing or sexual harassment? - Dateline NBC". NBC News. 28 July 2006. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  57. ^ "'Jewish hustler'—potty mouth and pervert—means no offense | The God Blog". Jewish Journal. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  58. ^ "claudine ko - american apparel 2". www.claudineko.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
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