American Apparel Nottingham

Label of the Year: American Apparel

Our champion may be the brand name that turned an attractive T-shirt/spandex leggings or thin jean combination to the consistent of Britain's twentysomethings in 2008. Polly Vernon rising of American Apparel and its controversial founder, Dov Charney.

The American Apparel shop, in Camden, North London, sits directly opposite the tube. It really is a hidden event, a little, discreet shop front side nestling between a Footlocker and a Rymans; but it functions as a youth club when it comes to irredeemably cool of the area. They gather truth be told there to browse the 'collection' - the Crayola-bright jersey textile stretch leggings and mini clothes, the latex-coated leggings, the too-baggy or too-tight shirts - and to go out. The PA system plays the Cure on a loop. The younger and beautiful store assistants jiggle and lip synch along to tracks they cannot possibly remember from the first-time around - and so they sell vast levels of stock to a loyal and rapidly growing clientele.

United states Apparel is the manner feeling of 2008. It's the biggest garments maker within the United States; it specialises in really standard, extremely brightly colored, ethically-produced jersey cotton pieces. Leggings, T-shirts, mini clothes, vintage-look hoodies... It was launched in the US in 1998 by fashion business owner and self-styled 'hustler' Dov Charney, a person whose joint fixation with good business ethics and sex, are making him as controversial as he works - by which, much more immediately. It came here four years back, whenever very first shop exposed on London's Carnaby Street. Since then, this has grown. Its unobtrusive small shops have sprouted up with minimal pomp and fuss, Starbucks-style, in Bristol, Glasgow, Brighton and Liverpool. These day there are seven shops in London, and limbs in Manchester and Nottingham will open before the end of this year. 'we're examining every city in britain with a decent-sized population', states Brent Chase, spokesperson the brand name in Britain.

American Apparel's UK procedure is thriving. Turnover has increased from £7m in 2007 to £14m this present year. Its visual is thriving within the UK, also. In 2007, it became the foundation when it comes to signature appearance of the extremely fashionable brigade: St Martins art pupils and Hoxton-dwelling creatives. However it wasn't until this year it actually got its claws in to the social moment at large. You'll have seen it, even although you did not know what you were examining. Those gaggles of pretty men in lilac low-cut oversized...