In the hope that Jezebel just forgot about Hayley, our vintage and multibrand manager, who they wrote about in January when she was the face of our 2010 California Select Lookbook, we'd like to clarify our way of doing things. American Apparel photographs people who inspire us with their personalities and the way they wear our clothing. Our photographs capture their natural beauty - which means no professional makeup artists, no stylists and no airbrushing. This way of working means we find our many muses in a variety of places, whether it's in one of our stores or on the streets. We love when random run-ins turn into longtime friendships, and oftentimes careers.

As a creative director for American Apparel, I not only select many of our models but often shoot them myself. In the last year alone, I've photographed countless employees, friends, the winning butts from our Best Bottom Contest, fashion bloggers, two teenage lovebirds we met at our Lower Broadway store during Fashion's Night Out and of course, my dog Charlie. I'd say that 95% of the people we shoot have never been professionally photographed before, and approximately 50% of those people work for the company in some capacity. I'm excited to work with someone like Zanita, who we found through her blog and whose self-portraits we recently featured in our collaboration with LOOKBOOK.nu. She may be a professional model, but I think she's making more waves with her photography and styling and that's what we'll focus on when we collaborate. In the same vein, I was excited to shoot Martine, a fashion marketing assistant who works at our Los Angeles headquarters, and C Diamond, a retail backstock employee, because their personal style and energy resonates with the brand. What's most important to us is that our photographs and advertisements capture our garments and models as they naturally are.

Our $50/hour flat rate for modeling means we don't have agents knocking on our door too often and we like it that way. Many American Apparel models work with us because they support our company or appreciate our aesthetic, or better yet, they are employees who have helped build the company into what it is today. To me, this is a big part of the reason American Apparel images evoke the emotions that they do.