Why We're Excited About The Return of American Apparel

There are few items as indispensable within my wardrobe as an American Apparel bodysuit: scoop-backed, plunge-necked, long and short sleeved, always black. They are machine-washable (up to about 20 wears, when they start to get a bit faded and are thus relegated to my secondary stash), crease-resistant, ethically made, cheap enough that you can buy a job lot of four with no shame and stretchy enough to work as travel wear.

I have worn them under every single one of my favourite skirts, beneath all my best trousers, to every fashion week, on abundant long-haul flights. A deep V-neck bodysuit worn beneath an Alaïa blazer and a Prada pencil skirt is my failsafe example of executive realness. When, after a protracted media frenzy, American Apparel finally closed their stores in April, I went into blind panic and bought them in bulk. But, as of last night, American Apparel is back.

Its return to the world of fashion has been stealthy, communicated primarily through newsletters to ardent customers signposting the quiet revival of an E-shop proclaiming that “we’re back… to basics.”

Now under the direction of Canadian brand Gildan Activewear, who bought the company for $88 million earlier this year, it has abandoned its Made-In-America premise in lieu of a tightly curated “globally made” offering utilising GA’s supply chain (a more expensive, eight-piece capsule collection manufactured domestically is still available).

It is a curious proposition, one which roots the brand in its stretchy activewear and sexy basics rather than the resolutely ethical Americanism upon which it was founded. It raises the question: how much do people actually care about where their clothes are made? Enough to pay an extra $10 for a hoodie?

“At American Apparel we’ve always believed in sweatshop-free and ethical manufacturing,” reads the new website. “We’ve also always believed that border lines are pointless.” Whether such a belief is authentically political, or simply well-spun cost-cutting, remains to be seen. I’m hoping that, by the time they’ll ship my bodysuits to the UK, there’ll be an answer. My bulk buy is fading fast.