When Dov Charney was a teenager in Montreal in the 1980s, he had a few simple pleasures: American-made t-shirts and sex.
More than twenty years later, the 37-year-old CEO of American Apparel has turned his proclivities into a $250 million production.
American Apparel's in-store experience relies on its boldly colored and body-conscious t-shirts, skirts, pants and bathing suits on three-tiered racks. Dov's threads hang under oversized product shots featuring half-naked young women and men shot in tantalizing states of undress, or sometimes his own naked backside.
By challenging the definition of good taste, Charney has developed a reputation as both a maverick and a pariah. He’s been characterized as a hustler and pornographer (among other labels), and has been racked over the coals for sexual harassment suits by former employees that were later dismissed.
“You learn pretty early on in this business that not everyone is going to like you,” Charney says. Despite enduring criticism from all angles, he has tapped into the twenty-something market, who are for better or worse connecting with his gritty approach.
Next Page
.jpg)
