Most people have heard of the retailer American Apparel – maybe for their knee-grazing pencil skirts or their ubiquitous brightly colored fleece sweatshirts. Sweatshop-free production, a rainbow of tees and hoodies, and unisex garb are in part what make the brand so attractive to both alternative dressers and common-folk alike. Yet despite the more basic nature of the brand’s clothing, American Apparel’s advertising methods are far from adjectives such as “boring” or “inoffensive.” Much brouhaha has surrounded their advertisements, with one particular gem banned in the UK, and another debated for its provocative positioning of a potentially under-age model. Peruse the American Apparel Tumblr page and prepare for some explicit content: most advertisements feature practically nude models, both male and female, posing provocatively in sheer garments. However, recently, it seems that CEO and fellow Member of the Tribe Dov Charney was feeling like the brand was short on controversy—so he hired a Hassid.
Fearlessly donning the traditional Hassidic garb – white button down, black slacks, and even a streimel (not sold by American Apparel) – Yiddish speaking Yoel Weisshaus is the newest and latest face of the brand. An admitted fan of the brand, his featured photos are simple and have a playful appearance. The Williamsburg native explains that his motivation for auditioning for the photo shoot was to combat the stereotype that religious Jewish communities are isolated and detached from contemporary society.
So how does the Williamsburg community feel about one of their own stepping outside of the insulated neighborhood? One would expect some outrage or at least an appalled response to Weisshaus’s decision to endorse a brand that so blatantly disregards modesty. Apparently, those opinions are none of Wiesshaus’s concern. According to an interview with The Daily Beast, he says, “I like the controversy, I enjoy the conversation, I like to get people talking with this stuff going on.”
The photos can be seen on the American Apparel website featured amongst its varied other advertisements depicting scantily dressed men and women. Wiesshaus makes the issue appear as stark as the garments in his picture. “It’s just a photo (The Daily Beast),” he says.