The New American Apparel Brand Will Include Clothing Not Actually Made In America

Like a phoenix made of bodysuits and brightly colored leg warmers*, American Apparel will rise from the ashes of its second bankruptcy, reformed as a brand with new Canadian owners who say they will make some American Apparel outside of America.

American Apparel’s founding mission was all about making clothes in the U.S. instead of sending the manufacturing work overseas, but Montreal-based Gildan Activewear is changing course, telling analysts on an earning call that it will put the American Apparel brand on some clothing made in other countries while it expands American’s market internationally.

“We’re going to do a combination of both,” Chief Executive Officer Glenn Chamandy said on an earnings conference call reported by Bloomberg. “We’re going to continue to support their core made-in-USA business, but we’re also going to offer a product where they couldn’t compete before.”

Gildan — which only bought the American Apparel brand, and not its retail stores — has been focusing on American Apparel’s screen-printing business, Bloomberg notes, though it’s still developing “consumer positioning for the brand.”

*It’s unclear if Gildan will continue to sell bodysuits and brightly colored leg warmers.