Dov Charney is back in the pop culture spotlight.

Charney, the founder of former Top 40 supplier American Apparel and current founder/senior partner of supplier Los Angeles Apparel (asi/67971), is reportedly becoming chief executive officer of Yeezy, a fashion brand from rapper/designer Kanye West, who now goes by Ye.

Ye and Dov Charney.

As of this writing, Charney hadn’t directly responded to requests for comment from ASI Media or other media entities. Still, multiple outlets have reported that Charney is now in as CEO of Yeezy.

Charney and Ye have reportedly worked together in the past. Los Angeles Magazine reported that some of their collaboration included Los Angeles Apparel printing certain controversial T-shirts for Ye. Pictures have surfaced recently that reportedly show Charney and Ye together at Don Quijote, a popular discount store in Japan.

Charney, once one of the promo industry’s most high-profile executives and the 2004 Counselor Person of the Year, built a winner with American Apparel – a brand known as much for its Made-in-America manufacturing and fashionable apparel basics as it was for its risqué marketing and advertising. Charney took American Apparel public in 2007, but within a few years the company reportedly began losing money. Amid financial trouble and controversies that included allegations of misconduct, Charney ultimately lost control of American Apparel in June of 2014.

Gildan (asi/56842) purchased American Apparel’s intellectual property rights and some equipment out of bankruptcy auction seven years ago. The Montreal-headquartered firm continues to own the American Apparel brand; Charney is not involved.

While, as The New York Times reported, Ye redefined “the modern concept of celebrity” with “smash hits and a healthy dose of spectacle and theatrics,” he’s also been no stranger to controversy. Fallout from racist, Anti-Semitic comments and “White Lives Matter” shirts he created/wore led brand partners to desert him and reportedly cost him $1.6 billion.

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