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| What is the Abercrombie look? | What is the Abercrombie look? |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A woman with a prosthetic arm is claiming damages against Abercrombie and Fitch, saying she was relegated to the stockroom as she didn't fit its "look policy". What is the style of this feted fashion retailer? | A woman with a prosthetic arm is claiming damages against Abercrombie and Fitch, saying she was relegated to the stockroom as she didn't fit its "look policy". What is the style of this feted fashion retailer? |
| COMPONENTS OF THE LOOK 1. Long hair; clean, natural style2. Natural looking make-up, no fingernail polish3. Slender figure4. Tight denim5. Flip-flops. Preferably leather | COMPONENTS OF THE LOOK 1. Long hair; clean, natural style2. Natural looking make-up, no fingernail polish3. Slender figure4. Tight denim5. Flip-flops. Preferably leather |
| Take an all-American classic. Jeans, for instance. Or a check shirt. Pound it and pummel it into faded outdoorsy sexiness. | Take an all-American classic. Jeans, for instance. Or a check shirt. Pound it and pummel it into faded outdoorsy sexiness. |
| The jeans should be worn low, so low passers-by will be on nodding terms with your crotch. And the check shirt? Not worn, but draped casually over one sculpted shoulder so as not to obscure one's rock-hard pecs. | |
| Add an eye-watering price tag, and accessorise with photogenic sales staff - so photogenic their job title is "model" - and in a nutshell you have the look of the much talked about American clothes store Abercrombie and Fitch. | Add an eye-watering price tag, and accessorise with photogenic sales staff - so photogenic their job title is "model" - and in a nutshell you have the look of the much talked about American clothes store Abercrombie and Fitch. |
| The firm is in the headlines after law student Riam Dean, who has a prosthetic arm, took its UK offshoot to an industrial tribunal, claiming discrimination. Ms Dean says the company hid her from customers because the cardigan she wore to cover her artificial arm did not fit the store's "look policy". | The firm is in the headlines after law student Riam Dean, who has a prosthetic arm, took its UK offshoot to an industrial tribunal, claiming discrimination. Ms Dean says the company hid her from customers because the cardigan she wore to cover her artificial arm did not fit the store's "look policy". |
| The company disputes her version of events and says it "has a strong anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy". | The company disputes her version of events and says it "has a strong anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy". |
| But the case has provoked a surge of interest in the strict style codes of the store and its loyal customers. | But the case has provoked a surge of interest in the strict style codes of the store and its loyal customers. |
| "The Abercrombie and Fitch look? A porno version of Brokeback Mountain," says the Guardian's fashion writer Hadley Freeman. "And judging by their ads, the look is no clothes at all - brave, for a fashion label." | "The Abercrombie and Fitch look? A porno version of Brokeback Mountain," says the Guardian's fashion writer Hadley Freeman. "And judging by their ads, the look is no clothes at all - brave, for a fashion label." |
| Formerly known as a purveyor of pricey, preppy gear, Abercrombie and Fitch - along with fellow US import American Apparel - is not shy of deploying sex to help shift its clothes . Both retailers run advertising campaigns peopled by nearly naked young things in provocative poses. | Formerly known as a purveyor of pricey, preppy gear, Abercrombie and Fitch - along with fellow US import American Apparel - is not shy of deploying sex to help shift its clothes . Both retailers run advertising campaigns peopled by nearly naked young things in provocative poses. |
| But while American Apparel's acid bright and tight leggings, playsuits and hoodies are modelled by rangy, gawky teens, Abercrombie and Fitch's models are, by contrast, in rude health and seemingly on the verge of al fresco rumpy-pumpy. | But while American Apparel's acid bright and tight leggings, playsuits and hoodies are modelled by rangy, gawky teens, Abercrombie and Fitch's models are, by contrast, in rude health and seemingly on the verge of al fresco rumpy-pumpy. |
| Spot the difference: American Apparel sells bright, tight gear | Spot the difference: American Apparel sells bright, tight gear |
| "It's the cowpoke look, and macho in a way that's very pretty. So macho that it crosses over into camp," says Freeman. "The American Apparel look is more gawky and unconventional, and Gap's is much more wholesome." | "It's the cowpoke look, and macho in a way that's very pretty. So macho that it crosses over into camp," says Freeman. "The American Apparel look is more gawky and unconventional, and Gap's is much more wholesome." |
| So if a man has to think "hot lumberjack" to fit the Abercrombie template, who do female A&F customers emulate? | So if a man has to think "hot lumberjack" to fit the Abercrombie template, who do female A&F customers emulate? |
| "Megan Fox in Transformers. Low-slung jeans. A heavy metallic belt on your sexy hips. A top that doesn't quite reach your waist. No obvious make-up, but you look better than anyone actually wearing no make-up," says Freeman. | "Megan Fox in Transformers. Low-slung jeans. A heavy metallic belt on your sexy hips. A top that doesn't quite reach your waist. No obvious make-up, but you look better than anyone actually wearing no make-up," says Freeman. |
| Look book | Look book |
| At the company's only UK outlet, off Savile Row in London, there is no shop sign. | At the company's only UK outlet, off Savile Row in London, there is no shop sign. |
| Homage to the male form at the London store | Homage to the male form at the London store |
| But it is unmistakably Abercrombie. A male model, in worn-out jeans and leather flip-flops, flaunts his honed torso just inside the doors. | But it is unmistakably Abercrombie. A male model, in worn-out jeans and leather flip-flops, flaunts his honed torso just inside the doors. |
| This is shopping as clubbing. Alison Moyet's Love Resurrection throbs through air heavy with signature fragrance Fierce, an androgynous cologne muskier than more citrusy rival CK One. And it is dark, lit only by the spotlights directed at neatly folded stacks of faded polo shirts and raw-edge hotpants. | This is shopping as clubbing. Alison Moyet's Love Resurrection throbs through air heavy with signature fragrance Fierce, an androgynous cologne muskier than more citrusy rival CK One. And it is dark, lit only by the spotlights directed at neatly folded stacks of faded polo shirts and raw-edge hotpants. |
| Housed in a mansion built in 1725 that was once a branch of the Bank of England, it has the appearance of a revved up gentlemen's club. Dark walls, ornate fireplaces, gracious staircases. | Housed in a mansion built in 1725 that was once a branch of the Bank of England, it has the appearance of a revved up gentlemen's club. Dark walls, ornate fireplaces, gracious staircases. |
| And the place heaves with staff. Within a few steps, one encounters two doormen in check shirts. The half-naked himbo. A pair of greeters, one boy, one girl. Another pair dancing on a balcony. And a man with greying hair sweeping up. | And the place heaves with staff. Within a few steps, one encounters two doormen in check shirts. The half-naked himbo. A pair of greeters, one boy, one girl. Another pair dancing on a balcony. And a man with greying hair sweeping up. |
| Riam Dean says she was moved to the stockroom of the Mayfair branch | Riam Dean says she was moved to the stockroom of the Mayfair branch |
| And they've all got the look. Individually, they'd be the most beautiful girl or boy in the room. Collectively, they become a mass of long locks, fresh faces and slender limbs. | And they've all got the look. Individually, they'd be the most beautiful girl or boy in the room. Collectively, they become a mass of long locks, fresh faces and slender limbs. |
| The look is so easy to define as the company has a detailed appearance policy, revealed in a 2005 class action filed by 10,000 employees and job applicants who didn't fit the Abercrombie identikit enough to work the shop floor. | The look is so easy to define as the company has a detailed appearance policy, revealed in a 2005 class action filed by 10,000 employees and job applicants who didn't fit the Abercrombie identikit enough to work the shop floor. |
| Chris Sanderson, strategy and insight director at the forecasting and consumer insight consultancy The Future Laboratory, says the company shifted its marketing strategy and its vision about 15 years ago. Since then, it has been one of the most influential American teen brands. | Chris Sanderson, strategy and insight director at the forecasting and consumer insight consultancy The Future Laboratory, says the company shifted its marketing strategy and its vision about 15 years ago. Since then, it has been one of the most influential American teen brands. |
| "What they did was wake the very conservative Ivy League look and sexualise it at a time when the process of brand sexualisation was happening at the top end of the market. | "What they did was wake the very conservative Ivy League look and sexualise it at a time when the process of brand sexualisation was happening at the top end of the market. |
| "They brought that to a mid-American audience, through photographers like Bruce Weber, and the A&F quarterly. It was basically soft porn for a very wide audience - young girls, young guys, gay guys." | "They brought that to a mid-American audience, through photographers like Bruce Weber, and the A&F quarterly. It was basically soft porn for a very wide audience - young girls, young guys, gay guys." |
| Club life | Club life |
| And the half-naked men and throbbing music are designed to exclude those who don't fit the target market. | And the half-naked men and throbbing music are designed to exclude those who don't fit the target market. |
| We half-wish we could look that good Chris Sanderson | We half-wish we could look that good Chris Sanderson |
| "While some brands have tried to widen their appeal, [with A&F] you actually shut out other consumers. You and I walk into that store and it's designed to make us feel uncomfortable." | "While some brands have tried to widen their appeal, [with A&F] you actually shut out other consumers. You and I walk into that store and it's designed to make us feel uncomfortable." |
| It's a Mecca for teenagers at half-term coming from outside London, but even those who feel intimidated can end up buying the wares, says Mr Sanderson. | It's a Mecca for teenagers at half-term coming from outside London, but even those who feel intimidated can end up buying the wares, says Mr Sanderson. |
| "There is this high energy, high hormone level. We half-wish we could look that good." | "There is this high energy, high hormone level. We half-wish we could look that good." |
| The clothing itself is very straightforward - "it's cheap cotton clothing made in the Far East, covered in American branding" - but the marketing and the staff make it look good. | The clothing itself is very straightforward - "it's cheap cotton clothing made in the Far East, covered in American branding" - but the marketing and the staff make it look good. |
| But does it still sell? Greg Hodge, a retail analyst at Planet Retail, says it has had six quarters of poor like-for-like sales figures worldwide, culminating in drops of 25% in the last quarter of 2008 and 30% in the first quarter of 2009. "That is really, really bad. Consumer spending has been cut back severely. They have clearly lost appeal." | But does it still sell? Greg Hodge, a retail analyst at Planet Retail, says it has had six quarters of poor like-for-like sales figures worldwide, culminating in drops of 25% in the last quarter of 2008 and 30% in the first quarter of 2009. "That is really, really bad. Consumer spending has been cut back severely. They have clearly lost appeal." |
| Whether the case brought by Riam Dean - which is awaiting judgement - will affect Abercrombie's public image is yet to be seen. But ironically, says Mr Hodge, its opening of a store in London has dented the brand's fortunes in the UK - it had more cachet when you could only buy its clothes on trips to the US. | Whether the case brought by Riam Dean - which is awaiting judgement - will affect Abercrombie's public image is yet to be seen. But ironically, says Mr Hodge, its opening of a store in London has dented the brand's fortunes in the UK - it had more cachet when you could only buy its clothes on trips to the US. |
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