In this episode of the IADS Retail Park 🎙️, Maya is joined by Anchita, to unpack Maya’s latest exclusive on the rise and fall of American Apparel 🧵. From a vertically integrated LA factory paying $80–$120 a day before ethical production was a marketing term, to two Chapter 11 filings and a $88 million acquisition that left the brand’s entire cultural infrastructure behind, Maya traces how one of the most forward-thinking fashion brands of the 2000s became a case study in what happens when governance doesn’t keep pace with a brand’s ambitions 📉. Through the lens of the IADS 2025 White Paper on DEI, the conversation draws a direct line between American Apparel’s institutional failures and the questions department stores should be asking their brand partners today — before the headlines arrive.

Based on 👉 IADS Exclusive: American Apparel After the Myth

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