The Abercrombie Kids brand will begin its international expansion, following its sister brands Abercrombie and Fitchand Hollister Co., in Canada. The first store has opened at Sherway Gardens with the opening postponed by a few days. Toronto Eaton Centre opened an abercrombie kids store on November 26th 2008. abercrombie kids may soon follow the international expansion outside of North America.
Abercrombie & Fitch has begun planning openings of non-A&F flagships for its brands in high-retail venues. The Company will open the first Hollister Co. flagship in SoHo 2009. abercrombie kids will follow this trend. The first abercrombie kids flagship opening will acompany the opening of the Abercrombie & Fitch flagship in Milan in 2009. This opening is one of the main comminments the A&F company has for fiscal 2009.This opening will mark the first international store for the abercrombie brand.
Continuing the flagship trend, A&F is also committed to opening a second abercrombie flagship in New York City in 2010. It will be located on 666 Fifth Avenue, and will include 22,000 square feet of retail space. The location was the previous failed-retail spot of Brooks Brothers which vacated January 31, 2009. Construction has begun and marketing has been erected on the facade. 666 is also one of the most expensive retail spaces on the Avenue. This future abercrombie flagship will be near its Abercrombie & Fitch sister flagship and such luxury boutiques as Chanel, Fendi, and Prada.
Humor tees from the brand have always had a following of criticism and controversy. Most slogans are taken as degrading girls (e.g., "I'm not allowed to date unless you're hot", ). They also show arrogant messages or disrespectful slogans ("'I will make you an all-star on the walk of shame'"). They are anti-education slogans as well: "'I'd do your homework, but I don't even do mine'; 'School is for catching up on sleep'). Girls' shirts are sold with slogans that typically show off their looks ("It's better being brunette", etc.). Perhaps the most controversial of all was the line of underwear for young girls with the sayings "Wink Wink" and "Eye Candy" screenprinted on them. Parents mounted storefront protests in outrage of the sexually-suggestive underwear. CEO and Chairman of the Board Mike Jeffries said to an interviewer that he did not think the underwear to be "bad", but moreso "cute."
Brands: abercrombie · Hollister Co. · Abercrombie & Fitch · Gilly Hicks · RUEHL No.925
People: David T. Abercrombie · Ezra Fitch · Mike Jeffries · Bruce Weber
Other: A&F Quarterly · A&F Girlcott · History of Abercrombie & Fitch · 7 Burlington Gardens (London flagship)
Why I Hate Abercrombie and Fitch: Essays on Race and Sexuality is a book regarding ethno-relational mores in contemporary gay African America with a nod to black, feminist and queer cultural contexts "dedicated to integrating sexuality and race into black and queer studies." It is written by Dwight A. McBride, the new dean of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Arts and Sciences. The book is published by New York University Press and used in Queer Studies as well as related college courses in universities McBride was a guest speaker at several universities speaking about the essay's subjects of race and sexuality in America. The collection of essays "offering contemporary cultural criticism" was a 2006 Lambda Literary Award and 2006 Hurston-Wright Legacy Award nominee as well as the Passing The Torch winner from the New York University Press.
The book is divided into three main sections: "Queer Black Thought," "Race and Sexuality on Occasion" and "Straight Black Talk" all exploring facets of the intersections of race, sexuality, class and gender issues. The often personal essays speak to the "ghettoization of black men in gay male porn" to broader subjects including the book's namesake Abercrombie ; Fitch and how the clothing retailer influences the gay African-American male. McBride has been recognized as a specialist in bridging LGBT and racial issues illuminating both.
