Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch advertisement picture from magazine

The media item I chose to write about was from a magazine; it is a picture advertisement for Abercrombie & Fitch. The advertisement has three white male models
with very tone bodies. The males bodies are very revealed and do not have an once of fat on them. In the picture the men are just standing outside with no shirts on with their hands in their pockets. These men seem to be carefree and have an easy life that is what the advertisement seems to be showing. All the men are white and seem to be very clean and well groomed. The picture is in black and white to give it a classy and sophisticated look and the capture of the advertisement says “casual luxury” which from the men in the picture you can tell they are care free with no worries enjoying the day with no shirts on.
The Abercrombie & Fitch magazine advertisement seems to be displaying a classy, casual, luxury care free, perfect body image. Abercrombie & Fitch is an American company that sells appeal and related products fewer than five lifestyle brands. A&F soon was know for their preppy clothes and image and tended to be less resemblance to traditional preppy apparel. The store itself gave a look of its own with the main symbol of a moose head, dark brown ceilings, and concrete or granite floors. The store gave a look of rich, classy and well put together. The workers in the store also had to look very similar. They were all almost white Americans who had nice bodies and a preppy, clean classy look. The store seemed to be discriminating to certain people, and advertised to only the people who had the Abercrombie & Fitch look and the prices of the clothing was not cheap either.
In the article “Why I Hate Abercrombie & Fitch” the author McBride states the reasons why he does not like A&F and how he thinks A&F has made a lifestyle for people and not just a clothing line. McBride states, “Abercrombie & Fitch has devised a very clear marketing and advertising strategy that celebrates whiteness-a particularly privileged and leisure-class whiteness-and makes use of it as a lifestyle that it commodities to sell otherwise extremely dull, uninspiring, and ordinary clothing. I am not, by the way, the first commentator to recognize this fact about the clothes themselves” (66). What McBride is saying is the clothes make a statement that is only towards white people and that is discriminating against other people in the world. Abercrombie & Fitch states, “Our brand is natural, classic and current, with and employment on style. This is what a Brand Representative must be; this is what a Brand Representative must represent in order to fulfill the conditions of employment” (67). Just like in the advertisement they are making a stereotype to their company and cloth line. A&F are gearing their cloths to certain people in a racist and discriminating way. Hiring people because they look a certain way and have to look a certain way is not right. The advertisement is an example of what McBride does not like about A&F it shows three men with their shirts off and the only piece of clothing they have on is jeans and you can barley see them. The store seems like they are selling the men’s bodies more then the clothes. The argument McBride is making is Abercrombie & Fitch is selling more of a lifestyle and a way people have to look instead of clothes. They are racist and discriminating towards people who do not look the way they want them too or would not look good in their clothes.
I agree with McBride because I feel that it isn’t right to discriminate and be racist towards people. Only hiring certain people to work at a store because of the way they look is racist and wrong. It shows which person is in which class and makes others feel oppressed. I feel that if A&F would stop only hiring people that have the look it would be looked at differently. I feel that Abercrombie & Fitch will not change, they had a lawsuit against then and they did not understand why. The people involved with A&F do not see what is wrong with it and see it just like every other store. I think Abercrombie & Fitch will always be that way because that is how they make their money.