Poor Abercrombie’s been having a hell of a time with this whole recession thing.
Last winter they refused to cut prices pre-Christmas which led to devastating losses and now, they’ve announced they’re closing Ruehl. A good friend worked at Abercrombie’s Ohio headquarters while Ruehl launched and here’s why, according to her, it bombed:
“At first their product was awesome, it was so different from anything else on the market. But it didn’t catch on immediately (most new things don’t) and instead of giving it a proper chance, they caved to corporate pressure and turned it into just another A&F. If they’d just stuck to the original idea without conforming to the A&F model, it would have made it through this downturn.
They didn’t differentiate themselves from their umbrella brand and you can’t draw an older, brand new demographic with the same merchandise they wore in high school. You can’t use sex to sell to a 29-year-old woman like you do a 17-year-old. Like look at Madewell. J.Crew’s offshoot does so well because it’s completely different from J.Crew - an original idea as opposed to a recycled version of the same thing.
Not to mention, no one even knew what Ruehl was.”
So there you have it. If you wanted to pay extra for your moose-embossed polo you should probably go now, all twenty-nine stores will be closed by the end of the year.
On Friday night, I stared at my suitcase trying to figure out what I could wear that would work for a hipster dinner in the 10th arrondissement followed by a black tie event in the 1st. I ended up with a weird mix of Marc Jacobs & Abercrombie - but one of Sophia Kokosalaki’s Fall 09 dresses might have been better.
Last season’s Grecian warrior princess knocked a couple of years off her age, shortened her skirt and threw on a sick jacket - cropped, plated in metals, sequins - that was like fashion armor.
A handful of dresses were constructed from sheer black fabric draped over nude jersey and silk - they reminded me of Alexander Wang. And the beribboned details brought to mind both Behnaz and Nina Ricci. Or it’s just that time of the season where everything starts to look alike.
The sturdy shoes caused a stir in rows one through five and I decided Olga Sherer’s one of my favorite runway models.
Also, Karlie’s deathwalk still makes me giggle.
See all the images…
Right on the heels of news that Abercrombie + Fitch is doing very well financially, and that at least London will see the revival of the A+F Quarterly, the New York Times reports some bad news for the brand -
After donating $10 million dollars to Ohio’s Columbus Children’s Hospital for a new emergency department and trauma center, it turns out that the donation may be refused entirely because of urging from fifteen organizations including the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Parents for Ethical Marketing and several doctors who work at the hospital.
They argue that accepting the donation and naming the part of the hospital that would be gift from A+F (as they have in response to all other corporate sponsorships in the past) would send a “grievously wrong message” because of the advertising and clothing.
We’re not sure that it’s so wise to refuse $10 million when ground on the new center is set to break this fall, but at the same time, we kind of see the coalition’s point.
One thought - Why is no one talking about accepting the money without naming the wing after A+F?
Reader Lexi reminded us of a shopping dilemma we haven’t thought about in years - “Would you buy something you know a friend already owns?”
I was immediately brought back to tenth grade lunch where my best once friend proclaimed ownership of Abercrombie and Fitch. Whether friend or foe, if you showed up with so much as a moose in the corner of your top, you were shot death stares until the 3 o’clock bell.
I, on the other hand, loved it when my random outfits, (knee-high boots, plaid mini-skirts, over-sized scarves) filtered into the hallways - it was the highest form of flattery.
However, that girl, the one who has a public heart attack if you buy something that’s already sitting in her closet (or worse, calls that she wants to buy a particular item before you even knew it existed,) haunts me to this day.
So I guess the real question isn’t whether or not it’s OK to bite off somebody else’s style, but rather, which girl are you?
Abercrombie & Fitch is launching its newest stab at the high-end market, lingerie line Gilly Hicks - but they’re still using the same old tricks.
The promotional video, currently the only thing on the Gilly Hicks site, is replete with a gaggle of naked girls and boys, in true A+F style.
Models frolick on beaches and in the water, wearing only one piece of lingerie at a time. In fact, they’re wearing so little, that the best view of the product comes from a shot of the clothesline, at left.
The brand arrives, with its own store in Boston, at the end of this month. You can watch the video on their site - if you can prove you’re 18.
We’re not sure the ad makes us want to ride the Chinatown bus to Boston and buy a new bra.
In fact, the only thing it makes us want to do is fly to Australia and take ours off.
