Hey nostromo, I'm one of the founders, William.
We love a lot of what American Apparel has done. We've certainly taken a lot of plays from their book.
That said, we think there are a lot of ways we can improve on the model:
1. Price - we think $25 for a tee shirt and $50 for a hoodie is too expensive; at scale we want to be lower on our basics. We won't be supporting retail stores, so this is very feasible. AA can't come down anymore in price, they've had a rough couple years as it is.
2. Quality - we're confident we can make consistently higher quality garments; more consistent in quality and fit, and better fabrics.
3. Style - on items outside their basics, we're not big fans of AA's fit or style. That is personal preference, of course.
4. Focus - we're only focused on men and will keep a very small line. Instead of millions of colors and styles, we're going to focus on delivering things every guy should and can wear. We want to be a safe bet so dudes can trust us.
LA and NY are really the only two places you can live if you want to be down the street from where your production happens. This is important if you are a micromanfacturer and want that kind of control for quality.