Yesterday, Jezebel
wrote an almost preposterously
inaccurate piece
about the models you
see in American
Apparel’s
advertisements or in
our stores or
online. It was
probably obvious to
many of you since
we’ve found many
great models and
employees through
the Daily Update,
Facebook and Twitter
and love receiving
your emails. In case
anyone was worried
about it, here is
that statement
written by Iris
Alonzo, a creative
director at American
Apparel, that was
emailed to most
media outlets: (we
also sent it to
Jezebel, but we
doubt they’ll bother
to follow up)

In the
hope that Jezebel
just forgot about
Hayley, our vintage
and multibrand
manager, who they wrote
about in January
when she was the
face of our 2010
California Select
Lookbook, we’d like
to clarify our way
of doing things.
American Apparel
photographs people
who inspire us with
their personalities
and the way they
wear our clothing.
Our photographs
capture their
natural beauty -
which means no
professional makeup
artists, no stylists
and no airbrushing.
This way of working
means we find our
many muses in a
variety of places,
whether it’s in one
of our stores or on
the streets. We love
when random run-ins
turn into longtime
friendships, and
oftentimes careers.

As a creative
director for
American Apparel, I
not only select many
of our models but
often shoot them
myself. In the last
year alone, I’ve
photographed
countless employees,
friends, the winning
butts from our Best
Bottom Contest,
fashion bloggers, two
teenage
lovebirds we met
at our Lower
Broadway store
during Fashion’s
Night Out and of
course, my
dog Charlie. I’d
say that 95% of the
people we shoot have
never been
professionally
photographed before,
and approximately
50% of those people
work for the company
in some capacity.
I’m excited to work
with someone like
Zanita, who we found
through her blog and
whose self-portraits
we recently featured
in our collaboration
with LOOKBOOK.nu.
She may be a
professional model,
but I think she’s
making more waves
with her photography
and styling and
that’s what we’ll
focus on when we
collaborate. In the
same vein, I was
excited to shoot Martine,
a fashion marketing
assistant who works
at our Los Angeles
headquarters, and C
Diamond, a
retail backstock
employee, because
their personal style
and energy resonates
with the brand.
What’s most
important to us is
that our photographs
and advertisements
capture our garments
and models as they
naturally are.

Our $50/hour flat
rate for modeling
means we don’t have
agents knocking on
our door too often
and we like it that
way. Many American
Apparel models work
with us because they
support our company
or appreciate our
aesthetic, or better
yet, they are
employees who have
helped build the
company into what it
is today. To me,
this is a big part
of the reason
American Apparel
images evoke the
emotions that they
do.

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