Fashion Hot Takes: How Los Angeles Apparel is Xeroxing The Elements of American Apparel

Written by Patrick Garland

I’m pretty sure everyone has seen how Ariana Grande is suing Forever 21, claiming that following a refusal on her end for a collaboration with the fast-fashion company, the company used her likeness in photo-shoots to profit off of her. Well, with the saturation that’s evident in fashion today, the lines between what can be considered “copying” and “taking influence from” have almost been blurred to the point of redundancy- excusing cases where one product is an exact replica of another.

Dov Charney, former CEO of American Apparel, and current CEO of Los Angeles Apparel, has received much attention recently from the clothing manufacturing world and legal world. The reasoning behind this is a byproduct of his move to make Los Angeles Apparel a carbon-cut copy- disregarding the different names, the two companies even have basically the same mission statement.

If American Apparel's success was inseparable from founder Dov Charney's own persona (as Charney claims), will his blemished legacy impact his new venture? VICE News met with Charney to discuss his new company, and also ask if he thinks his personality will benefit or deter the potential success of Los Angeles Apparel.

The popular website page, The Fashion Law, upon their investigations into the two found that, “It might not be until you see a subsequent Instagram post promoting the brand’s tights – which are, according to the caption, “sweatshop-free” and “made in the USA,” that it becomes clear. Or maybe it is when you come across the blurb on its website – “Vision. Passion. Innovation. Living Wages. Sustainability … That’s Los Angeles," which is feels quite a bit like, “Globally Sourced, Ethically Made, Still Sweatshop Free. That’s American Apparel,” which is listed on American Apparel’s website – that it hits you.”

Things like this are even happening in the high-class world of designer fashion, where different creative directors are being selected to former competing fashion houses; for example, the move of Hedi Slimane to Celine from Saint Laurent.

While some may feel that this may have a negative impact on the world of fashion, this is only going to bring more creativity to the field than ever before, with the laws of creative limitation being lessened to almost nothing.