selling sex

I was recently reading in the not so prestigious but always generally entertaining daily paper, Metro New York, that a new sort of eco-consciousness has developed amongst American consumers. The paper stated that fashion-aware people are buying and wearing more eco-friendly and organic clothing. The Metro, always relentlously searching for the "whys" behind issues, that is sarcasm, linked this phenomenom to 911 and a heightened desire for more meaningful experiences. I say "horse-phooey". In the category of clothing and accessories, I think this so-called eco-consciousness has less to do with consumers feeling more responsible and more about there being many more high-quality, high-style options from which to choose. We aren't talking about shrinking cars and rising gas prices here, we are talking about personal aesthetics. If it doesn't make consumers look good, they just aren't going to buy it. It is about supply and demand; and trickle down. It is about clothing makers making eco-consciousness more accesible and appealing for consumers, out of their own good consciences or because they sense a market opportunity.

The afore-mentioned article cites American Apparel as being an example of a clothing manufacturer that sells sweat-shop free clothing, qualifying it as an eco-friendly shop. But, as the owner himself has attested, AA is more about selling hot, sweaty sex than sweat-shop free labor. Accusations of misogynistic behavior aside, Dov Charney is one smart, strategic dude with an impeccible sense of timing. One might argue that AA has started to reach saturation points in NYC and surrounding burroughs, but you have to give Dov credit for honing in on "hip", up-and-coming areas like a religion and also, for finding creative outlets that fit well to leverage his devil-may-care brand.

Case in point: last spring, a new American Apparel opened in Brooklyn on Flatbush Avenue & 7th, in an old, closed-down movie-theater. While Park Slope is not the hippest of Brooklyn neighborhoods, the store chose a prime crossroads location with a bit of a story behind it. For many months, the only relic of the theater's living, breathing past was its billboard sign out front, which perpetually advertised for the movie "Van Helling". After many months, a creative local began to regularly swap around the remaining billboard letters to create amusing albeit cryptic messages for passerbyers to ponder. It wasn't some crazy man who was doing this, it was just a guy who was looking to stir up a little mischief, a bit like Dov himself. Eventually the Times caught on.


Continuing the clever momentum, an American Apparel opened in this very same theater space not too long afterwards. The new store is huge and flashy with colorful neon lights; it looks like a party. And, it utilizes the same type of billboard letters that had been gaining the theater notoriety after its closing. The letters continued to get scrambled, whether by the original culprit or the store itself, I do not know. Either way, American Apparel was giving a seemingly-hip, mischievous local a pat on the back for a clever job well done


After having been in Paris for about 2 months this summer, where there was at least one new American Apparel store I might add, I was again passing the billboard sign on the way to the subway. It now featured a double entendre statement, coupled with the same visual of the seductive looking temptress as seen above. The sign said "come inside". Apparently the message was a bit too racy, and I noticed about a week later that the visual had been taken down but the words remain (perhaps it was overload with words AND visual?). Perhaps AA was getting a bit too hip for the stroller set.