Dov Charney Advertises His Young, Sensitive Side

American Apparel‘s new ad takes a different approach.

Here’s what it says:

Since his early years, Dov Charney has used photography as a means of self-expression, in spite of his childhood dyslexia. According to Dov’s mother Sylvia, his interest in photography began when he was about 7 years old, when he became obsessed with submitting a photograph for a competition. It was at that time that he set up a makeshift darkroom in his mother’s closet, where he developed film and made small contact sheets with a light bulb. “His first major photo essay was a series of photographs he shot during a mid-1970s teachers strike in Quebec City,” explains his mother. “The central focus of his work has been the urban vernacular and the people in heh city.”

By age 18, Dov was running his business out of the basement of his father’s home in Montreal. For those close to him, it is known that photography was one of the central ways that he was able to market and promote his business. Today American Apparel is over a half-billion dollar business producing more than 1 million garments per week.

Above is a photograph of Dov’s darkroom in the boiler of his father’s home, taken when he was 11 years old.

From transparent lace undies to transparent ploy? Well, makes for a change!

Exclusive: American Apparel’s Newest Ad Features No Pubes; Features Nobody At All [Fashionista]