The other day in my 231 class we were discussing American and European fashion and how it works in representation of the company and ourselves. One of the debates was about Abercrombie and Fitch and whether or not it was considered classic or trendy and their advertising to represent as such. The company calls their fashion “Casual Luxury” which is neither here nor there but I think we can all agree that their clothes are the same every season just with some different colors and patterns incorporated into the pieces. The jeans always have holes in them and are in the same wash option with maybe a few alterations from the previous season. Granted their demographic is desires to buy this style and counts on it to always be there as a constant. Abercrombie and Fitch has a reputation for advertising very sexual ads, more so in the past than now. It has been toned down a little here recently. Their main selling point is sex and selling it to teens and young adults that buy into that form of advertisement. It works very well for them.
They have clearly established themselves as a company that teens and young adults will always go and shop at regardless of the advertisements and propaganda. If you have been to a store recently they have changed the store layout and store front in interesting ways. There used to be very large window displays and dressed mannequins. The new format of the store front is covered completely with navy blue plantation panel shutters that eliminate inward view of the store. This is interesting to me because this eliminates any and all window advertising and mannequin display. The only explanation for this would be that they have established their company so well with their loyal customers that they don’t feel that they need to spend money to use this display space. In most stores that I have seen you are greeted with a fit male torso with a pair of pants on that you can’t even see. The point of that is to draw in the customers that want to buy that look or lifestyle. There are also the models that walk around the store front to promote the season. This is purely for attraction and something nice to look to be perfectly honest. Sure there may be some side perks like loss prevention but people find ways around that so it is what it is. Abercrombie and Fitch is a brand driven by a desire to appeal to the demographic that appreciates what they have to offer and it will always be that way.
