What happened to Abercrombie and Fitch? Who was CEO Mike Jeffries and when is White Hot documentary on Netflix

Abercrombie & Fitch were the quintessential American fashion brand of the 1990s - they cornered cool, their clothes were expensive and had mass appeal and their ads featuring almost naked models certainly caught the eye.

But beneath the glamour was a hidden string of controversies and legal issues.

The Netflix documentary White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch, dives into the company’s use of exclusion to build its brand.

Documentarian Alison Klayman, who made Take Your Pills and The Brink spoke to former employees at all levels of Abercrombie & Fitch to piece together this exposé.

What is Abercrombie & Fitch?

Abercrombie & Fitch is a near-luxury casual wear retailer which was founded in 1892. The company also owns Hollister Co., which was founded in 2000.

Since the 1980s and ‘90s the company has focused on the young adult demographic and was notorious for its provocative advertising campaigns using near nude models.

In just over a year and partly as a result of the great recession the value of the company plummeted from 2007-2008.

Struggling to compete against fast fashion companies, Abercrombie & Fitch shifted its focus, toned down the sexually explicit advertising and rebranded as an inclusive pro-diversity retailer.

Today the company has a value of more than £1.3 billion and has carved out a niche as a fashion brand somewhere between the cheap fast fashion of H&M and the more expensive luxury designers like Ralph Lauren.

What was controversial about Abercrombie & Fitch?

As is explored in the Netflix documentary, Abercrombie & Fitch has been involved with several legal issues over the years.

In 2004, legal action was taken against the company for discriminating against African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and women by giving preferential treatment to white men.

The company was accused of favouring white men when offering floor sales and management positions - the class action suit was settled to the tune of $40 million.

Other poor employment practices included moving a member of staff with a prosthetic limb from the shop floor to the warehouse out of sight of customers, and telling a woman who wore a hijab to remove it - in both cases the employees were told they had violated the company’s ‘Look Policy’.

More broadly, the documentary explores allegations that Abercrombie & Fitch had a policy of exclusion - one person interviewed for the documentary said: “Abercrombie rooted themselves in discrimination at every single level.”

Other issues included an investigation that was launched after it was suspected that the company predominantly hired staff under 25 years old and offered a premium to male models who worked shirtless.

Who was Mike Jeffries?

Mike Jeffries was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch from 1992 until he resigned in 2014.

It was Jeffries that spearheaded the exclusionary marketing techniques, including the hiring of young, attractive staff to work on the sho floor.

In addition, the company only offered clothes in limited sizes - shirts went stopped at a large, and trousers only went up to size 10.

Jeffries had said whilst CEO of the company that his clothing is only for cool people - he was later reported as saying that he didn’t want overweight or unattractive people to wear his clothes. He apologised for the comments in 2013.

What is Abercrombie & Fitch like today?

As a result of these legal issues, Abercrombie & Fitch have undergone a dramatic rebrand - the company’s website claims that they are “championing inclusivity and creating a sense of belonging.”

The Abercrombie Equity Project was launched to help advance social and racial justice - a marked difference in the values of the Abercrombie & Fitch of 20 years ago.

When is White Hot on Netflix?

The documentary will be released on Netflix on 19 April.