Abercrombie & Fitch Banishes Abs—Except On the Cologne
If you’re looking for washboard abs, you can only find them on the Abercrombie & Fitch “Fierce” cologne bottle (Photo: Abercrombie & Fitch)
In a shocking turn of events, Abercrombie & Fitch is covering up its trademark washboard abs. There’s only one place left that you can find a chiseled male torso nowadays—and it’s on the bottles of “Fierce” cologne ($44), the official signature scent of the brand. (A.K.A., the potent fragrance wafting through the store that gives your mom a headache so she’ll “just wait out here and let me know when you’re done, honey.”) In May 2014, the once-ubiquitous retailer decided to rebrand due to a 77% shrink in profits, slowly tearing down its giant logos and Miami nightclub ambiance and décor. Then, in December 2014 Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries—the man who notoriously said, “A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong,” stepped down, perhaps marking a larger sea change for the brand.
Ashton Kutcher engages in some clean cut fun in an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog (Photo: Abercrombie & Fitch)
Once upon a time, you could find chiseled shirtless men standing in front of every A&F store, from Hong Kong to New York to Madison, Wisconsin—and some of our favorite All-American pretty boys, from Jamie Dornan to Ashton Kutcher to Channing Tatum, once tumbled in the haystacks in the shirtless Bruce Weber-shot catalogs. Rain or shine, winter or summer, these brave half-naked men greeted customers, letting foreign tourists and gawky teenage girls objectify them without even having to walk in and by something.
Models lining up for the opening of the Abercrombie & Fitch Singapore store (Photo: Getty)
It was a brilliant marketing strategy that didn’t really sell any clothes—but you weren’t really buying A&F for the clothes, right?
Pre-“Fifty Shades of Grey” Jamie Dornan sells—clothes?—in an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog (Photo: Abercrombie & Fitch)
These days, though, the abs are still here on the “Fierce” cologne bottle—possibly because while you need to wear a shirt to sell a shirt, you need an alluring idea to sell a scent. Bloomberg cites an insider source who credits the image to fitting “the provocative sensibilities of the fragrance industry.” The product copy on the website reads: “Packed with confidence and a bold, masculine attitude, Fierce is not just a cologne, it’s a lifestyle. The clean scent of fresh citrus will grab her attention and warm musk will keep her interested. Rugged, classic, cool… live the tradition of Abercrombie & Fitch with our signature scent.” The scent is even available as a candle ($64) if you want your room to smell like the store. We’ll miss the good ol’ days, but it’s somehow comforting to know that the overpowering smell is still part of A&F’s image.
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