This is a documentary more than a film and I’d like to treat it as such with a full feature account of its contents as opposed to a review of the quality of the production.
There are no actors with whom a performance needs to be dissected and no story to be told with color. In fact, this tale is absolutely about the lack of color. This is real life and a truth about a brand that is/was/is both outrageous and damning.
Let’s start with its origins…
Abercrombie & Fitch was founded by David Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch. It was originally created as a brand for elite sporting and excursion goods. Hunting, fishing and gathering. One of their most prominent customers was President Theodore Roosevelt as well as Ernest Hemingway.
Rumor has it that the gun Hemingway used to commit suicide was purchased from Abercrombie & Fitch, and later placed on consignment by the same…
What does that signage say? I hope they were at the very least conflicted about that…
Over time, the brand evolved from mostly gear, to gear and apparel, to mostly apparel, focused on what presented as the New England preppy style and now, as a brand appealing to modern youth like the Gap and Benetton.
Basically it went from L.L.Bean to Brooks Brothers to H&M…
But along the way, they went very wrong…
Around the turn of their second century, leadership got caught up in the race to be the most iconic apparel youth brand in the world…
White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch tells the story of a company that blatantly discriminated against demographics they deemed inferior, were sued by nine former employees of color and lost to the tune of $40 million.
As a part of the settlement, the company was also tasked with making changes to their hiring and staffing practices as well as hiring a Chief Diversity Officer. They paid the $40 million, but missed the mark on meeting their diversity goals. On purpose. Just chose not to change the culture.
Eventually, the mastermind behind the Abercrombie look was ousted and the Abercrombie you see today is a shell of the retail juggernaut it was during the 2000’s.
Here’s my personal Abercrombie story:
There’s an area in lower Manhattan near Wall Street called the Seaport. It’s a small shopping area with stores and restaurants — a bar or two. In around the year 2001, there was an Abercrombie store there. Full disclosure: I was an Abercrombie during the Brooks Brothers phase, but fell off heading into the H&M era. This was that time…
I was walking by the store and in the doorway was a young, blonde white guy wearing jeans, flip flops and a winter scarf. It was June…
This struck me as a little more than being the doorman…
I stopped and started asking him questions like:
“Is this the only thing you do here?”
“Are you like a billboard?”
“Are you supposed to chat up certain people?”
We both clearly knew what was happening and the guy was a good sport though clearly embarrassed. I told him I meant no harm, it’s just a shame Abercrombie has reduced to these kinds of gratuitous tactics. But acknowledge his answer to my inquisition which was, “Its a job…”
I saw the writing on the wall. It couldn’t have been more obvious if it had been written on his six pack. But the intended direction of Abercrombie & Fitch was on full display and they had to pay for it. In today’s inclusive society? Diversity missteps like this aren’t available as marketing options… they just can’t stick and don’t stick.
I actually didn’t go into the store that day and haven’t been in one since. Natural order steered me from discrimination 20 years in advance. Their plan worked. They intended to employ and appeal to young, modern white kids. Too bad it was illegal…
But I did go into Brooks Brothers… 👦🏽
Everyone should see this documentary. Especially if you’re a person of color. It’s likely you’ve experienced this type of workplace discrimination at some point in your career and can take solace in the fact that at least one retailer had to answer for it.
White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch is streaming on Netflix.
