Los Angeles Apparel is a manufacturer, designer and distributor of clothing based in South-Central Los Angeles. The company was founded in 2016 by

Dov Charney Dov Charney (born January 31, 1969) is a Canadian entrepreneur and clothing manufacturer. He is the founder of American Apparel, which was one of the largest garment manufacturers in the United States until its bankruptcy in 2015. Charney was ...

, the founder of American Apparel. Los Angeles Apparel is a vertically integrated manufacturer, and currently employs over 1,500 personnel.

History

Los Angeles Apparel was founded by

in 2016 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

after he was terminated from American Apparel by its board due to numerous allegations including sexual harassment, racism, and sexual assault. Charney rejected a $4.5 million severance package and role as "creative director" in the company and launched Los Angeles Apparel as a wholesale business, similar to American Apparel's origins in 1989. About 90% of the factory's machinery once belonged to American Apparel. Charney bought fabric, computers, sewing machines, and other equipment from American Apparel in the bankruptcy sale. In late 2016,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

-based TSC Apparel made a multimillion-dollar business deal with Los Angeles Apparel, selling the startup's clothes to concert producer

Live Nation Entertainment Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It promotes, operates and manages ticket sales for live entertainment internation ...

and screen printers who previously purchased American Apparel. In an effort to emphasize the importance of the workers who produce the apparel, their names and faces were printed on the labels of shirts back in 2017. 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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and 4 workers died before the factory was ordered to close.

Production

Los Angeles Apparel was started as a wholesale business. The company is upfront about the fact that its clothing and

business model A business model describes how a Company, business organization creates, delivers, and captures value creation, value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self-pub ...

is similar to that of American Apparel. Los Angeles Apparel is a manufacturer and distributor of apparel to screen printers, apparel companies, and

boutique A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...

s. The company focuses on production of T-shirts,

sweatshirts A sweatshirt is a long-sleeved pullover shirt or jacket fashioned out of thick, usually cotton, cloth material. Sweatshirts are almost exclusively casual attire and hence not as formal as some sweaters. Sweatshirts may or may not have a hood. A s ...

, cotton

bodysuit A bodysuit is a one-piece form-fitting garment, form-fitting or skin-tight garment that covers the torso and the crotch. The design of a basic bodysuit is similar to a one-piece swimsuit and a leotard, though the materials may vary. Thong or T ...

s and swimwear. The company is a vertically integrated manufacturer with

knitting Knitting is a method for production of textile Knitted fabric, fabrics by interlacing yarn loops with loops of the same or other yarns. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done Hand knitting, by hand or Knitting machi ...

and

dyeing Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ...

done in Los Angeles. Similar to the values held by American Apparel, the corporate identity has a commitment to "sweatshop free" manufacturing.

References

External links

*{{Official website, losangelesapparel.net} Clothing brands of the United States Clothing manufacturers Companies based in Los Angeles Manufacturing companies based in California Retail companies based in California Retail companies established in 2016 2016 establishments in California