American Apparel Rocks Out with Live Nation Partnership
American Apparel is getting back to its roots.
The Gildan-owned basics brand inked another multi-year partnership with live music titan Live Nation as the official printwear supplier for some U.S. music festivals. The deal seems revive their first agreement in 2019, which outlined a three-year contract for 16 Live Nation music venues, such as New York’s Gramercy Theatre, the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, and six music festivals, including Bonnaroo, Rolling Loud and EDC Orlando.
More from Sourcing Journal
American Apparel was a popular blank tee provider for bands from The Killers and She & Him to Maroon 5 before scandal helped push the Dov Charney-founded, Los Angeles-based brand into bankruptcy.
“We are excited to extend our partnership with Live Nation, the global leader in live entertainment, to feature our iconic American Apparel brand center stage,” Emma Budzisz, vice president of marketing at Gildan Activewear, said. “Music holds a special place in the heart of our consumers, and the festival experience presents us with an exceptional opportunity to collaborate with artists and designers to create timeless T-shirt memories for attendees.”
American Apparel joined Atlanta’s Music Midtown festival from Sept. 15-17 to unveil its Tee Lab activation booth. Through Sept. 18, the “one-of-a-kind customization experience” allows festival goers to receive a free, custom-printed T-shirt and embroidered patches. Select American Apparel printed products will be available for purchase at the booth as well.
“Music festivals are seeing record attendance, and merch is a quintessential and growing part of the live music experience for fans,” Maureen Ford, president of national and festival sales at Live Nation, said. “Our partnership with American Apparel empowers festival fans to personalize merch with their unique style as they mark the memory and take a piece of the magic home with them.”
