In the mid-2000s, American Apparel became one of the most successful fashion brands in the United States, known for its colorful casual clothing, ethical production, and sexually provocative advertising campaigns. For young staffers it was an exciting time: a chance to be part of a cult-like company revolutionizing the industry, and an opportunity to learn from American Apparel’s charismatic CEO and founder, Dov Charney.

But as the brand quickly expanded, its employees began to realize that American Apparel’s shiny surface was hiding a darker reality. Charney’s chaotic management started to affect the company’s finances, and he was accused of sexual harassment by female employees. As problems mounted and the company began to implode, staff members were forced to come to terms with the toxic work environment Charney created. (Charney has denied the allegations and has not been found guilty of, or liable for, any crimes. The lawsuits against him were either settled or went to arbitration.)

For our graphics, we took the iconic, minimalist branding of American Apparel as a starting point to draw viewers into the attractive aesthetic world the brand created. We also produced several era-appropriate screen-based graphics to visualise the downfall of the company, as abusive text messages were sent and criminalising images were found on Charney’s server.