American Apparel has proven they have no problem with pushing boundaries when it comes to their visual assets, whether it's in store with pubic hair-donning mannequins or scantily-clad models on their website. In fact, their CEO was recently ousted from his top position to a new role as "paid consultant" after claims of rampant sexism. Well, the CEO may be relocated out of the head spot but the controversy-raising store is at it again, this time with a super risqué and fairly misogynistic ad that features a woman's (barely) mini-skirt clad derrière bent over a car window.
Why showing off the girl's behind is necessary to sell the skirt, we couldn't tell you. The image appeared on the company's Instagram but after some swift and heavy criticism from the Twitter-sphere (people labeled it as "misogynistic" and "horrifying"), it was soon taken down. The image is part of American Apparel's "back to school" campaign, which features images of very minimalist chic school girls wearing cropped sweaters paired with mini-skirts, as seen below. The rest of the "back to school" images don't feature any bending over, and they seem to be selling the clothes just fine.
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I'm an Associate Editor at the Business of Fashion, where I edit and write stories about the fashion and beauty industries. Previously, I was the brand editor at Adweek, where I was the lead editor for Adweek's brand and retail coverage. Before my switch to business journalism, I was a writer/reporter at PEOPLE.com, where I wrote news posts, galleries and articles for PEOPLE magazine's website. My work has been published on TheAtlantic.com, ELLE.com, MarieClaire.com, PEOPLE.com, GoodHousekeeping.com and in Every Day with Rachael Ray. It has been syndicated by Cosmopolitan.com, TIME.com, TravelandLeisure.com and GoodHousekeeping.com, among other publications. Previously, I've worked at VOGUE.com, ELLE.com, and MarieClaire.com.
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