American Apparel Is Relaunching Very Soon

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The last few years have been a rollercoaster for American Apparel. It went bankrupt, went bankrupt again, was bought out of bankruptcy by Gildan Activewear, and then shut down all of its stores. Though the brand’s website no longer lists product, there’s been a note on its homepage for months promising that it will be up and running again at some point this summer.

On an earnings call yesterday, Gildan execs said more specifically that the American Apparel e-commerce site will relaunch “in the next few weeks.”

It both will and won’t be the American Apparel you used to know. Gildan acquired the brand’s name for $88 million but didn’t purchase any of its manufacturing operations, so the Canadian company has rebuilt American Apparel’s design, production, and distribution capabilities from the ground up.

At the same time, Gildan says the line will be based on pieces that American Apparel has historically sold, and it hired the “cream of the crop” from American Apparel’s old advertising and marketing team to handle its branding. Gildan is based in Montreal, but those employees are staying in American Apparel’s hometown of Los Angeles because Gildan wants to keep the brand’s DNA rooted there.