Are Los Angeles fashion designers conscious of worker exploitation in the global textile industry?
Dov Charney: Absolutely. So much manufacturing is done here that many designers are thinking about it all the time. I don’t think American Apparel is alone in treating workers well. There are a lot of independent designers who care about the dignity of the people they’re working with. Unfortunately, in the apparel industry, everything is subcontracted, and it leads to some exploitation. But because things are often subcontracted locally here, it’s a step in the right direction. CB: You’ve decried the fashion victimization of today’s market as “tribal.” What do you mean? A lot of the weirdness in the apparel industry happens because of this false tribalism around brands. It’s about Fubu, Rocawear. It’s like bad religion. There’s not attention to the design. It’s a flash in the pan, and companies try to make the lowest common denominator. Products based on ingenuity and simplicity transcend time, like Levi’s 501s in the ’70s. There’s a continuity and repeatability in fashion. There are r
