Red wine and milk. Heidi and Spencer. Warhol and Wyeth. Some pairings just make you go ick. Now added to that list: American Apparel and Sesame Street.

To celebrate Sesame Street's 40th anniversary, the august California-based clothier will release a "limited-edition" run of four t-shirt styles featuring line drawings of Jim Henson's beloved characters.

The company opted against merely taking Henson's creative work and using it without permission, then releasing incoherent statements defending the theft on the grounds of aesthetic admiration, all while simultaneously impugning Henson's sexual choices and demanding to see nude photos of his wife in court filings. This is progress! Licensing deals are a lot simpler (and mutually remunerative) than lawsuits.

It's easy to see what American Apparel is getting out of this deal: the company can enhance its brand by piggy-backing on the eternal childhood of the hipster youth, and revitalize its kids' line, in one fell swoop. What Sesame Street stands to gain from associating its wholesome, educational image with a company best known for its very adult advertising, sexual harassment, accounting irregularities, and using non-union labor, is less clear. (All right: money.)

Photo Illustration By The Inimitable Tracie

American Apparel and Sesame Street Collaborate on Unique Line of T-Shirts [PR Newswire]
Breaking: Woody Allen on Alvarado/Sunset [Curbed LA]
Woody Allen in Legal Battle with American Apparel [WCBS]
American Apparel Provides Update on Status of Accounting Evaluation [Reuters]
Wolf In Sheep's Clothing [In These Times]

Earlier:
Dov Charney Co-Opted Woody Allen's Image Out Of Adoration
American Apparel CEO Orders Subordinate To Pleasure Herself: She Services Him With A Lawsuit

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