the charney chronicles

Dov Charney Denies American Apparel’s Bias on Looks

When we last left American Apparel auteur Dov Charney, Gawker had posted a memo on a meeting in which it appeared Charney suggested that retail employees who were insufficiently attractive be laid off and sent, presumably, to toil in the back room of Strawberry. Now Charney has offered a somewhat flaccid denial in today’s Canadian Globe and Mail. “At American Apparel,” the Dov is quoted, “we strive to hire salespeople who have an enthusiasm for fashion and retail and who themselves have good fashion sense. But this does not necessarily mean they have to be physically attractive.” This denial comes at the end of an article that suggests, as if you didn’t know it, that we all consciously or subconsciously display bias toward the beautiful people of our world, giving them better jobs or better pay because of their looks or height. So, as they say, when you point an accusatory finger at poor Dov or his latest half-dressed billboard nymphet, remember that there are three stubby digits pointing right back at you.

Survival of The Hottest [Globe and Mail]
Earlier: Dov Charney Allegedly Letting Go of Less-Attractive Staffers? [NYM]

Dov Charney Denies American Apparel’s Bias on Looks