When and how was the brand founded?

Abercrombie & Fitch was founded in 1892 by David Abercrombie in New York. Initially he ran the company alone until he sold shares to manager Ezra Fitch in 1900. In 1907, Abercrombie handed over all his shares to Fitch due to a failed collaboration with his partner and left the company. At that time, the A&F brand was a fishing and hunting brand until it worked its way up to a trendy teenager brand. To this day Abercrombie & Fitch continues to serve lovers of classic and comfortable fashion.

Subbrands and target group

The brand includes abercrombie kids, Hollister and Gilly Hicks.
The brand serves men and boys as well as women and girls with clothing, perfume and underwear. Abercrombie & Fitch is characterized by the elk as a feature that is sewn on almost all of its clothes. With the Hollister sub-brand, it is the seagull that is visible on the clothing and you automatically associate it with the brand. In addition to these features, the brand is often associated with a strong and pleasant smell in the store and nice beach models on the bags or pictures in the store.

Criticism of Abercrombie & Fitch

It was not always without problems with the well-known fire. In the background the Greens unfortunately did some things wrong, which is why the brand was often accused.

Even well-known brands make mistakes

They were often accused of discrimination because they only wear fashion for “cool and good-looking people” or for forbidding a girl with autism to get help from her sister in the locker room. There was also a lot of shitstorm on A&F because they discriminated against applicants because of their skin color. This was followed by a fine totaling $40 million, which the brand had to pay to the 10,000 people affected. The treatment of the employees also left something to be desired: the company had to cede $2.2 million to 11,000 former employees because they were required to buy clothing from Abercrombie & Fitch and wear it at work. This resulted in payment below the minimum wage, because most of the money went to clothing that had to be worn for appearances only.

What did they do right?

Besides all the racist and discriminatory accusations, A&F also did some things right: thanks to a special marketing strategy, the brand became quite attractive for a certain target group, the teenagers. They like to wear comfortable clothes that are suitable for everyday life, which, as the official website describes the brand, should give you a self-confident and relaxed feeling. They are also attracted by the beautiful and modern interior of the stores and the design of the online store, as well as the youthful and good-looking models.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF7sMRanbpK/

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Most popular pieces of the brand

Very popular are jeans by Hollister or Abercrombie, T-shirts with simple print, simple sweatshirt jackets and hoodies, or bras by Gilly Hicks, which often have a lot of lace. In addition, the typical scents of the brand, whether as perfume or body spray, are highly sought after because they smell like the “vacation scent” in the store.

Store here: Abercrombie & Fitch

Editorial photo © lassedesignen – fotolia.com

TV casting shows: trade privacy for some more

Fast money does not exist

A little preface to the casting shows: Of course, there are many great models on the shows. If you want to try your hand at a casting show, do it. But it’s also worth briefly considering the pros and cons of TV shows. Every year, thousands of contestants and candidates come to live auditions to prove their talent. What many of them are looking for is the big stage as a self-promoter. What modeling agencies are looking for are models who take the job seriously. If you are a model in the context of a TV show, you have an everlasting stamp. Casting shows are a two-sided sword for young models. On one hand they promise you big success, on the other they put you in extreme situations for good visuals. The fast money doesn’t exist. Fast money always comes with trade-offs here: Loss of privacy, uncontrolled footage and extreme situations that are then aired abbreviated. Many see casting shows as a stepping stone. But they only bring you short-term success, if at all. In addition you get an eternal stamp as “the one from show XY”. Many customers will no longer book you.

In real life, you can’t bitch on the shoot set or argue with the other models. You can only do that on TV. Drama, drama, drama. As viewers, we then enjoy curious contestants. TV shows should not be your path. Who has long-term success? Three or four out of tens of thousands? TV shows are designed for a season, not a career.

Fast money always comes with sacrifices. Many see TV casting shows as a stepping stone. Yet they only bring you short-term success, if any at all: and yes, an eternal stamp in the industry. Many clients may not book you again. Every year, thousands of candidates and contestants come to live auditions to prove their talent. What many of them are looking for is the big stage as a self-promoter. What model agencies are looking for are models who take the job seriously. In real life you can’t bitch on the shooting set or argue with the other models. That’s only possible on TV, when that’s exactly your job: drama. As viewers, we are then happy to see curious candidates. TV shows should not be your path. Who has long-term success? Three or four out of tens of thousands? TV shows are designed for a season, not a career.

For model: Love your job, not the big stage

In the modeling industry, many “just want to be on the cover of VOGUE”. That modeling is really work, many do not understand at first. The cover of “VOGUE” is an absolutely beautiful goal. But at first it doesn’t have much to do with the everyday life of a model. Your everyday life consists of commercials, online shops and lookbooks. You stand on the set for eight or more hours and are the only person who has to smile all the time. Over and over again. Until your book is so good and your agency likes you so much that you get the chance to do your first magazine shootings. But it’s a long way to the cover.

Models who make it to Vogue love their job. Models love to work on showrooms, are happy to be on photo shoots and incidentally motivate the whole production team with their positive energy. They work hard on their careers for years without much attention. They often start small in their own country. After school they go abroad. They live in model shared flats with three, four or five strangers from different countries. Without constant conflicts, of course. This is the everyday life of a model.

The way is the goal – also for models

Models who lose sight of the path quickly fall by the wayside. If you want to make your first steps to work as a model, you must be able to honestly assess your own skills and talents. Only if you assess your own possibilities well, you can plan your way as a model well.