Abercrombie & Fitch, a dynasty of controversy
The million dollar clothing company has been reaching out towards teenagers and young adults with their flashy prices and mild nudity, for decades. The company founded in 1892, was originally built for outdoor clothing, i.e. fishing, camping. Eventually it became a well marketed brand known for its high prices and high profiled clients i.e. JFK. The more money it costs the more it looks attractive to those who can not afford it. Fast forward to the present, Abercrombie & Fitch is one of the most popular brands for the teenage generation.
Abercrombie & Fitch is mildly famous for its provocative catalogs and racy pictures within. Half naked prom queens and muscle baring jocks. There are groups and organizations that have created petitions and boycotts against the company such as the American Decency Association, which believes the company is just profiting off of selling pornography to our youth. Back in 2003, Abercrombie & Fitch recalled one of their racy catalogs after a boycott was held by the National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families. Abercrombie strives to make a more conservative look and has toned down the amount of nudity in its catalogs, but the photos are still enough to make a parent squirm. But, let’s face it. Our children are only buying Abercrombie because it’s a style, a look, a brand. They wouldn’t be buying into the market trend, if there were nothing trendy about the company. Teenagers adapt to nudity, as they grow older they feed on their sexual ambitions. Abercrombie has to market their clothing in some way, because their clothes are nothing to preach about.
Abercrombie & Fitch clothing is said to be made of high quality. All of the clothing lines consist of cheap thin material and they multiply its worth by thousands. The people, who fall prey to the gimmick, are cheating themselves. You can pay $50 for a t-shirt that they probably spent 5c for. It’s nothing new; everyone knows that the Abercrombie brand label is what sells the product. The line is also intended for the skinner, semi- anorexic youth in our nation. When the facts, straightly prove that most of our country is obese. They do not even attempt to make an effort for clothing that would suit more curvy bodies. Abercrombie is a style.
Abercrombie’s style consists of young naked adults. The all-american look. The perfect people for the perfect clothing line, which consists of mostly caucasion teenagers with blonde hair and blue eyes. Are we falling towards an early WWII epidemic, of the perfect “Aryan” person.
Are we creating a world for our children, where they must conform towards unrealistic standards. The modeling industry has been condemned for the way they portray females in the media. A perfect being with no flaws. Abercrombie feeds on these emotions, trying to make them believe that they too can be beautiful, if only they buy the Abercrombie brand. It works, their product sells.
As Abercrombie & Fitch, is based mainly on a style and a look. They continue to strive on this idea through their employees in their stores. In order to be employed, you must be seeked out. Individuals seen shopping in the store, that have the particular Abercrombie look, are asked if they would like a job and are immediately hired. Though, under certain regulations by law, they must hire a certain number of minorities. These “minorities” which don’t fall under the Abercrombie Style Guidelines, are forced to stay hidden while working long hours in backrooms. Otherwise, Abercrombie management will not hire these individuals. Recently, Abercrombie & Fitch settled a lawsuit for $40 million, and were ordered to hire more Latino, Asian, and Black employees. It has been proven, that corporate officials make their rounds to each store and force management to fire or decrease hours of employees that do not meet the standaard all-american look. They should realize, An all-american look is not all-white. Others find in favor of Abercrombie, stating they have the right to hire who they want to work at their stores. I.E. Hooters who conform to big breasted females and Asian restaurants who discourage non-asians from applying.
Are we good parents to let our children sell out to conformity? Should we let our children throw away money, and not learn the basis of real budgeting and spending wisely instead of foolishly. No need to put the blame on Abercrombie & Fitch, we pay for overpriced Lattes at Starbucks don't we? Let the youth of America spend their money on Fashion instead of Drugs.