When American Apparel emerged from its post-bankruptcy chapter, we helped relaunch the brand with a bold return to its roots. Our insight was simple: get back to what made American Apparel iconic in the first place: fashion-forward basics, ethical manufacturing, and unapologetic self-expression. The result was “Back to Basics,” a brand platform that celebrated core products, pairing the brand’s iconic photographic style with confident, unsexualized styling that felt authentic to the brand’s DNA.

We led the art direction and design of American Apparel’s 2018 and 2019 wholesale catalogs, now considered the brand’s product bible. Our work extended into brand guidelines, photography direction, and trade materials that reintroduced the brand by spotlighting what made it iconic to begin with: fashionable basics, ethical manufacturing, and unapologetic self-expression.