With a new American Apparel advert comes a new controversy. The clothing company, which does an undeniably great range of all-purpose hoodies - has used a topless worker from their office in the new ad. So far, so AA. The worker, Maks, a merchandiser for the company, was born in Bangladesh and grew up there until she was four. Okay, so not that weird at all, people from all over the world end up living and working all over the world.
She also used to be Muslim, having 'distanced' herself from the religion while in high school. Right, so we understand there’s some potential controversy there, but really, what she does with her body should have nothing to do with her religion, and even so, she’s not even Muslim anymore. So right, nothing to see here, same old, same old. Oh wait, that’s until you see the caption across Maks’s breasts with the slogan ‘Made in Bangladesh.’
In a blurb under the picture, the company explains that Maks ‘doesn’t feel the need to identify herself as an American or a Bengali and is not content to fit her life into anyone else’s conventional narrative.
‘That’s what makes her essential to the mosaic that is Los Angeles, and unequivocally, a distinct figure in the ever expanding American Apparel family’
Hmm. The thing is, she’s still fitting into AA’s now-conventional narrative that the company sees little contradiction in promoting its clothing using half-undressed models. And also, considering American Apparel make none of its clothes in Bangladesh, there’s the extra bonus that they really are advertising for something it's not selling. None of the advert has much to do with what the stores sell - clothes.
Yet Maks has willingly taken part in the campaign: 'I was fully comfortable with the photo shoot and went with it' she told MailOnline. However, we can’t help but feel that, after the textile factory tragedy in Bangladesh last year, which saw 1,100 people crushed to death while working in poor conditions, there might have been a more sensitive way of saying ‘Hey, the only Bangladeshi labour we use is in the grand US of A where workers are treated nicely.’
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.