“But they didn’t have the platform to be able to voice it and now they do. “There were probably just as many people as there are now who hated what we were doing, who were completely offended, who didn’t feel included, who didn’t feel represented,” reflects one ex-employee near the end of the documentary. As the Asian American students who protested the “Wong Brothers” T-shirts in 2002 might well attest, objections to the brand’s behavior have always existed – it’s just that someone finally stopped to listen to them. ![]() But, like various other documentaries revisiting troubling elements of our not-too-distant past, “White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch” is less an exposé of what happened under his leadership and more a reflection on what we, as a society, allowed to happen. The next year, Jeffries stepped down as CEO amid declining sales, paving the way for another rebranding exercise. New Bob Ross documentary complicates the legacy of an artist who painted 'happy little trees' While there were evident improvements in the diversity seen on Abercrombie’s shop floors, the company would later end up in the Supreme Court after a Muslim American woman, Samantha Elauf, claimed she refused a job in 2008 because she wore headscarf. And although the firm never admitted guilt in the case, it did agree to a non-binding Consent Decree that saw a court overseeing improvements to its hiring, recruitment and marketing practices. Several of the plaintiffs appear in Netflix’s documentary to reiterate longstanding claims that Black, Asian American and Hispanic employees had their hours reduced, were let go or were forced into backroom roles on account of their appearance.Ībercrombie settled the suit in 2004, paying out around $40 million to its accusers. ![]() In 2003, a group of former employees and job applicants sued Abercrombie & Fitch for discrimination. ![]() The company began facing accusations of wrongdoing from around the turn of the millennium. Through interviews with former models, recruiters, store workers and executives, the 88-minute film suggests that appearing cool, attractive and White wasn’t just an exercise in branding: it was an active corporate strategy that came at the expense of non-White employees and consumers.Ībercrombie & Fitch models at the opening of the brand's store on New York's 5th Avenue. Our Planet (Season 2) Released on Netflix: June 14th. A vast community of chimpanzees thrives in a forest in Uganda, navigating complex social politics, family dynamics and dangerous territory disputes. Chimp Empire (Season 1) Released on Netflix: April 19th. Yet, barely disguised in the label’s new tagline, “This is #AbercrombieToday,” is an admission that there is a yesterday it would rather we forget.Īny chance of that has been effectively dashed by Netflix’s new documentary “White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch,” which charts Abercrombie’s transformation from forgotten 19th-century outdoors retailer to the epitome of late-’90s teen fashion. Nature Documentaries Released on Netflix in 2023. The brand’s Instagram account, meanwhile, proudly promotes models in wheelchairs, stories of body-positivity and statements of LGBTQ solidarity. There are people of color, sizes up to 3XL and even a Pride-themed collection featuring “gender inclusive” rainbow tees. Abercrombie & Fitch’s website is, today, awash with Gen-Z-friendly nods to diversity and inclusion.
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