movie White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch | April 19 on Netflix

[Michael196]

 

[BeenTheShit]

Did anyone else watch this?  I thought it was quite interesting, especially as someone who worked for Hollister briefly in 2012. 

• I can't believe Abercrombie was able to get away with the blatant discrimination for so long, even after multiple lawsuits and settlements.  I was floored too when they doubled down by saying it's what made the brand so successful. 
• I definitely saw the shady recruiting and hiring practices first hand at my store.
• I never knew about the racist graphic t-shirts towards Asians and Mexicans.
• I was also unware of Bruce Weber and all the sexual assault allegations and settlements regarding his time photographing the male Abercrombie models.
• Mike Jeffries, the ex CEO, used to actually be decent looking before all the plastic surgery. 

On another note, Abercrombie was definitely my gay awakening.  However, as I look back I'm floored that they were literally serving up soft core gay porn and still managed to become the top clothing retailer among teens and young adults. 

Edited April 22, 2022 by BeenTheShit
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[Hector]

An incredibly fascinating watch.  The photoshoots were sexy & iconic  (though Bruce Weber groping & sexually harassing the models was not okay in any capacity) The fact get they were able to get away with their discrimination practices were appalling which is why I'm happy that CEO Mike Jeffries was ousted in 2014. I'm at least happy they've tried to do better in the social media age. 

[BeenTheShit]

Just now, Hector said:

An incredibly fascinating watch.  The photoshoots were sexy & iconic  (though Bruce Weber groping & sexually harassing the models was not okay in any capacity) The fact get they were able to get away with their discrimination practices were appalling which is why I'm happy that CEO Mike Jeffries was ousted in 2014. I'm at least happy they've tried to do better in the social media age. 

Yeah it's actually amazing to see the comeback they've made in the past few years since the major downfall.  You can definitely tell the new CEO supports inclusion. 

 

Plus their clothing is actually fashionable again.  I remember when they started putting huge logos on everything and their clothes looked tacky.  Today, a lot of their clothes don't even have a visible logo displayed which is nice.

[publikcitizen]

As much as I enjoyed working with my colleagues at A&F as well as Hollister (it’s owned by the same company), they were toxic environments to be in and it’s what started my body image issues that still persist today. I remember one time I referred a friend I considered to be hot to my manager for hiring, she had a disapproving look on her face when she saw him and that surprised me. She hired him to work in the stockroom where I did and it really distorted my perception of what is the standard for being good looking. If I considered him to be hot, but by A&F standard he wasn’t, it made me question how I looked and it created dark thoughts in my mind that I still have with me today. I have no one to blame but me for being put in that situation. I chose to work there because I wanted to make money and the street cred it would give me in high school and college