Amid a major rebranding effort, Abercrombie & Fitch hosts a holiday cocktail event at the Standard Hotel East Village.
I’m wearing Abercrombie and Fitch denim right now. I have since I was young, and will never wear anything else. They’re a dark wash with the simple logo on the back pocket. Nothing crazy, but totally reliable. They last forever, my last pair went for two years before retiring out because I wanted to get some new clothes. Of course, I bought another pair of A&F jeans. Abercrombie achieved, for me, what every brand wants: to be synonymous with a product. Their product. My love affair with Abercrombie denim gets me stares. Why are you wearing that brand? Maybe it keeps me feeling young. Maybe they make a good product.
People just aren’t talking about Abercrombie like they used to. After a leadership shake up and a long term brand effort, Abercrombie is shifting into high gear to make the brand one of heritage and Americana and with a sudden push towards buy-American. It may all pay off. Independently of that, there’s a push toward a focus on, in the words of Fran Horowitz, “Inner self rather their outer self,” by using models with charisma and character. As the brand shifts toward an aging buyer, but a more affluent buyer, there’s a push on #characterstudy, which shows videos of unique individuals interacting in the context of Abercrombie. It’s the same people that appear in the ad work, which contributes to a cross-platform, cross-medium cohesion that’s unexpected and appreciated.
We stopped by a holiday cocktail event at the suitably chic Standard Hotel East Village, where Abercrombie & Fitch hosted one of the most varied and interesting groups of people in recent memory, from every corner of the world, coming together to celebrate the brand, and, ostensibly, themselves. It was a chance for Abercrombie to reorient themselves in the culture capital of the world, to reintroduce a more interesting and exciting brand to the new target consumer. Guests included some of Abercrombie’s top people to connect with the customers and trend influencers. Attendees also enjoyed a performance by Grace, with a stunning backdrop of the NYC lower east skyline, it felt like exactly like what Abercrombie has been trying to do all along.
Abercrombie & Fitch is willing to know its customer. And the collection for the winter is cozy and chic, chunky sweaters we’d expected on KJP or on a college campus, skiing coats, shot in warm spaces. Theres a rustic element, but also an undone ornamentation. The looks have a messiness and a easiness, the garments are to be used and enjoyed, just like the denim I’ve worn all these years. Through the years of occasional controversy and public interest, the soul of Abercrombie remains, and that’s a very good thing.
[slideshow]Explore more at https://www.abercrombie.com.
