Is the American Apparel' New Orleans location still active? Current status of the store

Netflix's popular docuseries Trainwreck: The Cult of American Apparel explores the downfall of American Apparel, a North American clothing retailer, in its latest episode.

Founded by Canadian businessman Dov Charney in 1989, the brand became an integral part of US fashion for its domestically produced products at a palatable price.

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The "Made in US" logo, combined with low prices, made the brand into a wholesale giant, which soon dominated the retail market. Charney opened the first American Apparel retail store in 2003 in Los Angeles' Echo Park neighborhood and later expanded the company to New York, Montreal, and New Orleans.

However, following Charney's defamation case in 2014, all retail stores, including American Apparel's New Orleans location, were shut down for good. Currently, the brand only operates online under Gildan Activewear.

More on this in our story.

What led to the downfall of American Apparel's New Orleans and other stores?

While Charney's clothing company had a good start and soon dominated the fashion market, the company and its CEO came under public scrutiny soon after.

While American Apparel became synonymous with cool fashion, mass-producing disco pants and cool tees (perfect for house parties), the company's working environment was questionable.

To push this idea of cool fashion, Charney used innovative but s*xually suggestive ad campaigns, which heavily featured adult film models and actresses. While these ad campaigns were highly popular and gained attention, they were morally questionable and challenged society's norms.

Riding high on his brand's success, Charney was finally ousted in 2014, when the Los Angeles Times revealed a string of accusations against him, lodged by his employees. It was the beginning of the end for American Apparel's New Orleans store and other locations.

Charney's employees had accused him of misconduct, verbal and s*xual abuse, toxic working conditions, and long working hours. In addition, many employees accused their CEO of walking around naked in the factory and encouraging them to work from his home, which made them fear for their safety.

While Charney never accepted these accusations, it led to multiple lawsuits against him. His company finally filed a restraining order, following which he was removed as CEO.

What happened to American Apparel's New Orleans location after Don Charney's scandal?

Following his removal, Apparel's New Orleans and the other stores were closed till December 2016. The final store in Camden, North London, was also shut down in 2017, the last of the company's physical presence.

In addition, in 2017, Canadian sportswear manufacturer Gildan Activewear bought the company for $88 million (£64 million). Following this acquisition, Gildan closed all 281 stores across the US and UK and relaunched the brand online under its parent company.

While this takeover tried to restore some of the brand's former glory, including its commitment to domestically manufactured products, it didn't succeed in the market.

Gildan initially preserved the brand's commitment to US-manufactured items, but this faded over time, and globally manufactured items took over the brand's online page. Currently, the brand only sells a limited US-manufactured items through Amazon.

Following his scandal, Charney founded Los Angeles Apparel in 2016, in the hope of replicating the success of his former company. The brand is confirmed to open a store in New York in 2025

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