James Charles Is Closing His Sisters Apparel Brand
Social media influencer James Charles took to TikTok to announce he is closing his Sisters Apparel brand.
The 24-year-old TikTok star, best known for his beauty videos and his controversies, took to the platform with a video where he said, “Well, it’s official. Sisters Apparel is shutting down. This video is bittersweet for me to make, but it’s been a long time coming. Let’s talk about it.”
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Charles originally started Sisters Apparel in 2017. Fellow social media influencer Jeffree Star’s apparel distribution company Killer Merch used to distribute the Sisters Apparel line, but in 2019, Star and Charles had a widely publicized feud. Star lashed out at Charles in May after fellow influencer Tati Westbrook published a viral video making numerous allegations against Charles.
Shortly after Charles and Star’s feud, Sisters Apparel also quietly disappeared off the Killer Merch website. By June of 2019, Sisters Apparel was back online with a six-piece capsule collection and a new distribution company, Mad Merch. That July, Charles also relaunched Sisters Apparel’s rainbow merchandise collection, which immediately sold out when it originally launched in June 2018 for Pride Month.
In 2021, Charles also came under fire for sexual misconduct allegations involving messaging underage boys. Charles admitted to messaging two boys under the age of 18 in a YouTube video titled “Holding Myself Accountable,” where he said he was led to believe the boys were of legal age. The fallout from the allegation led to YouTube temporarily demonitizing Charles’ YouTube channel, inhibiting his ability to make money from ads. Morphe also ended its collaboration with Charles.
Despite some of the successes of Sisters Apparel, Charles said in his TikTok video he doesn’t feel like his heart is in the project anymore.
“I just don’t feel connected to the brand anymore. A lot of people have noticed that I no longer say ‘hi sisters’ in my videos anymore. It’s not because I don’t love the people who are watching. You guys will always be my sisters. I’ve just grown up a bit,” he said in his TikTok video.
Charles said his focus will be solely on his Painted makeup collection, which launched in August. The vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics line launched with Create Paint, Painted Detail Brushes and an oversize Paint Sponge.
Sisters Apparel will have a final 50-percent-off sale on Friday beginning at 10 a.m. PST to help clear out the brand’s final selection of inventory.
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