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Photo: Gothamist
American Apparel has littered billboards and bus stops with pervy ad campaigns for so long that at this point we've all become a little immune. White background, eerily young-looking girl kicking a leg open, nipples peeking out from a mesh leotard—you know what I'm talking about. Those images are so familiar they're no longer shocking, so for their next stunt, the brand's stirring up controversy with their mannequins instead.
Gothamist first spotted them in the label's Lower East Side store: a row of three mannequins with unmistakable bushes. According to the report, people on the street are straight up laughing at them, and since the store's salespeople didn't seem to be all that informed about their origins or intention, we reached out to the company for comment:
"American Apparel is a company that celebrates natural beauty, and the Lower East Side Valentine's Day window continues that celebration," a rep told us. "We created it to invite passerbys to explore the idea of what is 'sexy' and consider their comfort with the natural female form. This is the same idea behind our advertisements, which avoid many of the photoshopped and airbrushed standards of the fashion industry. So far we have received positive feedback from those that have commented, and we're looking forward to hearing more points of view."
Hmmm. It all sounds well and good, but this is the company helmed by Dov Charney, who has faced multiple accusations of sexual harassment. Still, perhaps American Apparel deserves some credit for promoting an image of a woman in all her natural glory. Or is it just the same old schtick?
Related: One Photographer's Brilliant Take on Those American Apparel Ads
