American Apparel, the brand behind the hoodie that defined a moment in 00s indie style, is said to be preparing to file for its second bankruptcy. According to Bloomberg, the label may be filing in the next couple of weeks, though it has declined to comment.
The last two years have been something of a rollercoaster for American Apparel: the brand fired its controversial founder Dov Charney and, shortly afterwards, took out a restraining order against him. It then appointed a new CEO – Paula Schneider – who attempted to rebrand the label by scrapping its “overtly sexual” ads, but she handed in her resignation after just 18 months at the helm.
Then, in August of last year, it was revealed that American Apparel was in $210.6 million debt and, two months later, the company filed for bankruptcy (for the first time). In December however, it looked like Charney was going to make the comeback of the century when it emerged that he was allegedly trying to buy the label back in an attempt to regain control. This never actually happened, though.
In February it looked like everything was going to be OK when former bondholders led by Monarch Alternative Capital (a big hedge fund sponsor) took over. But while the company has spent the past year trying to improve sales by going back to its roots and focussing on basics, it now looks like their efforts may have been in vain. :(
That said, when a company goes bankrupt, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it ceases to exist. So, if these reports do turn out to be true, we may still have somewhere to go for our wardrobe staples. Fingers crossed.
