FAT IN’S at Abercrombie & Fitch

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Today I was going to write a post about fabric grainlines and cutting out pattern pieces. Instead I was compelled to write about Abercrombie & Fitch. Last night I read this article;

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/abercrombie-fitch-ceo-explains-why-he-hates-fat-chicks/

Being that I went to fashion school in Los Angeles and have been fully emersed in the eurocentric fat hating fashion industry at it’s epicenter, Mike Jeffries comments in this article are NOT surprising to me. Brand image and target customers are the foundation of all apparel companies. It’s just upsetting to hear Jeffries talk so unedited about who his target customer and demographic actually is!

Now a lot of us would think that Jeffries is an idiot because he’s losing money by excluding fat people, (hell fat people make up the majority of the US) but I’m not convinced that he actually is losing money by excluding us. If all of a sudden A&F carried plus sizes their “skinny, beautiful & cool,” target customer would most likely not want to be associated with a company that no longer matched their core beauty standard beliefs.

Have you ever noticed how plus sizes aren’t hanging on the same racks as straight sizes? How at forever 21 the plus sizes are often stuck in the muggy corner next to the sale items? There is a REASON for this! Retailers believe that they will lose sales due to straight sized individuals not wanting to be associated with plus sizes.

Although these comments by Jeffries were made are about 6 years prior to the article it is irrelevant due to the fact that this way of thinking is very CURRENT and is just another example of institutionalized fatphobia, ableism and racism among other isms. Regardless of this possibly being a publicity stunt on behalf of A&F (which I highly doubt) it opens up a dialouge to view fashion from a political perspective! Beliefs and brands like these (whether they are candid about their fatphobic ideologies or not) are why I decided to get involved in the fashion industry.

When I first read the article I thought, “Well I’ll never step foot in an Abercrombie & Fitch again,” but then I realized that is Jeffries GOAL! He doesn’t want fat people anywhere near his precious Abercrombie & Fitch stores tainting his oh so cool brand image. If all of us fatties were to just avoid Abercrombie & Fitch stores then things will be peachy for them. I think it’s time we do something about this bullshit. That’s when I found on facebook that Janssen McCormick was organizing FAT-In’s at Abercrombie & Fitch locations!

https://www.facebook.com/events/187096194776097/”>https://www.facebook.com/events/187096194776097/

The facebook event page reads;

“Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries hates fat people, particularly fat women (I know, what a bold stand, a Caucasian male telling women how their bodies should look). The aim of The Abercrombie Fat-In is to be unapologetically fat in Abercrombie stores (along with sub-brands such as Hollister). You don’t even need to bring a sign, though it’s cool if you want to, just be your fabulous fat self. Try on some of their clothes and make the store infinitely cooler by coming out of the fitting rooms to show off how poorly tailored their clothing is. Loudly ask why Abercrombie refuses to sell to fat customers, let other customers in store know about Jeffries’ remarks. Hell, go head and get kicked out of the mall and make a big scene.”

This is a great opportunity to connect with other fat people and protest not just A&F but fatphobia in general! A mall full of fat people is always a good thing!

The details for the Seattle chapter of the Fat-In are still getting worked out! I’ll keep you posted!