Abercombie WTF: Netflix documentary: White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch

Yes, we all know the infamous store, Abercrombie and Fitch. You grew up in the 2000s, and that was the go-to place to shop at, or you know it in its present-day with a new vision.  

You all have heard of the new Netflix documentary: White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch. Yes, Netflix has become the go-to for exposing all the messiness of these "iconic" brands. 

I will forever know it's the store in the 2000s that's non-inclusive, and you can smell the fragrance 10ft away. I will admit I did have two shirts in my whole Y2k outfits: Guess Jeans, Gap, Nordstroms, and clothes that are full of shame. 

Those simple shirt that said "Abercrombie" was a staple in my middle school years; it was all thru the hallways. It was a terrible time for fashion. I went to PWI, aka predominantly white school, so this is "the look." I always knew that that store was not geared towards me, a young black female with thick thighs. My mom hated that store with a passion- due to all the fragrances just staying in your nostrils. 

The current resurgence that we are now seeing is an apology for the toxic bullshit this brand did to us in the 2000s. 

The documentary White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch is here to remind us of that trauma. While watching this documentary, I wished I could have been shocked by the allegations they showed us, but sadly, we all knew this was the essence of this brand. 

From the behind-scenes of how the company came to be by the questionable antics of its founder, hyper-sexualized models in their exclusive catalogs, and course, their racist ass shirts stereotyping the Asian culture. I remember those hyper-sexualized catalogs and how they caused controversy. Looking back, those "catalogs" were soft porn and could cause an unrealistic "perfect" look for the American young adult. The idea that these graphic tee shirts stereotyping cultures were even designed and sold is WTF, but it was the 2000s, and no one could get canceled. 

The interviews were brilliant; they showed the behind-the-scenes stuff, the publicity stunt of hiring a black man for Diversity and Inclusion to "clean up the mess," even though he looked disgusted while speaking of his time at the company. Some of these interviews were shameless, and I still don't understand the bullshit of this company. 

I do like how they showed other companies, such as American Eagle and Gap, and how you can tell the difference in how diversity was essential to their company. I remember feeling relief when I walked into American Eagle and Gap and knowing someone in the catalog looked like me, the customer service was genuine, and I did not feel like I was bothering them. Shout out to the famous MadTV skit. 

Abercrombie has a resurgence and has a new vision in the last couple of years. It's all about inclusive, diversity, body positivity, and entering the social awareness conversations. If you had told me this 20 years ago, I would've laughed in your face, but here we are- we are now looking for Abercrombie for curvy-fit jeans. I finally purchased these jeans due to the influence of my favorite black fashion content creators promoting these jeans, and I have to admit they do fit the body well. I am not entirely sold on this new initiative, but we will see if they will keep growing and being for all, not just not that typical shit us the original Y2K kids had to visit daily. 

Check out Cosmopolitan 9 Signs Abercrombie & Fitch Isn't What It Used to Be

Make sure you check out this documentary- it will give you PTSD and is very interesting all at once.