Cover Story by Tess Chierici "The image of Abercrombie and Fitch is a collegiate lifestyle," Carney said.

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Cover Stories | Send mail to The Voice Clothing company markets sensuality to college-age adults A young man sleeps on a train, an Abercrombie and Fitch T-shirt draped over his chest. The T-shirt proclaims, "Always Friendly Ocean Resort." Flip to the next picture. But wait a second. A book rests near his head. A close look reveals the book's title: "The Kama Sutra," the first illustrated manual on sexual intercourse. The Abercrombie "Quarterly" also contains less subtle images. Many pictures present models in suggestive poses wearing little to no clothing. Since 1997, Abercrombie and Fitch, a popular clothing company, has published its quarterly magazine targeted at college-age adults. It combines pictures of nude and semi-nude models with articles containing sexually graphic content and vulgar language. The magazine includes a catalog of Abercrombie and Fitch merchandise. Abercrombie and Fitch spokesper son Hampton Carney said that all Abercrombie and Fitch photography is done by Bruce Weber, a world-renowned fashion photographer, and that each photograph is beautiful and artistic, worthy to be framed. "[They] are beautiful, energetic, wholesome yet sexy," he said. Bill Johnson, president of the American Decency Association, a Christian organization that promotes a holy lifestyle, described "The Quarterly's" images as pornographic. Mr. Johnson said, "[Abercrombie and Fitch] has very little concern for the negative impact of such imagery upon its adolescent target." The material in the "Abercrombie and Fitch Quarterly", Mr. Johnson said, is destructive to both men and women. Mr. Johnson said many young people, women in particular, look at these images and feel dissatisfied with the way they look. "The whole attractive thing becomes god in their lives. They are continually pursuing the look, whatever the look is. The look changes from one Quarterly to the next or one Cosmopolitan to the next," he said. "When [advertising like the Quarterly] is out in the public before young men [those images] can be a starting aid to pornographic addiction." Johnson said. Abercrombie and Fitch sells more than clothes with its Quarterly magazine. The company sells an image. "The image of Abercrombie and Fitch is a collegiate lifestyle," Carney said. "The Quarterly was created to help convey the image of our brand to our consumers." Interviews with ex-strippers, crude comedians and homosexual authors help convey the Abercrombie and Fitch image. The catalog contains T-shirts with messages such as "Sexius Student Bodius" and "Hottest Campus Girlius." Carney said Abercrombie and Fitch didn't understand why people were opposed to the Quarterly. "We think [the content of the Quarterly has a] beautiful tongue-and-cheek sense of humor," he said. "Sometimes [the humor] is irreverent, but that is what college life is all about." Carney said that critics should look at the Quarterly through the eyes of college students and see the Quarterly for what it is, "fun and funny." Abercrombie and Fitch wrap the Quarterly in plastic with an advisory note warning about its mature content and suggesting parental discretion. To purchase the Quarterly one must be 18 and present identification. Carney said the company agreed that the Quarterly is not for youth and has done all in its power to keep the content of the Quarterly out of the hands of minors. However, Johnson said this was not always the case. "Until a couple of years ago, [Abercrombie and Fitch] pedaled [the Quarterly] at the mall, and minors could go in and buy it," he said. "That was until the Michigan attorney general stepped in and wrote them a very strong letter telling [Abercrombie and Fitch] if they continued, they would face criminal charges for the dissemination of pornography." Too many Christians have been accommodating the world's lack of decency, Johnson said. "Even when they have been made aware of the damaging impact of companies like Abercrombie and Fitch, [many Christians] have looked the other way and continued to purchase [merchandise]. They give no concern to aligning themselves with that which is clearly evil." "There is another side to the story," said Dr. Jaeil Lee, professor of clothing and textiles at Seattle Pacific University. She designed men's sweaters at Abercrombie and Fitch for two-and-a-half years. "Christians working there really try hard to change the company," she said. "Not all the people working there agree with the advertising, but they want to make a quality product." Dr. Lee doesn't propose that Christians ignore Abercrombie and Fitch advertising strategies, however. "[Abercrombie and Fitch] tries to sell sex and youth. I think people need to take action to show that this is not good," she said. " We have to show what customers really think about the advertising. The company can then say, 'Wow, there is something out there we have to think about." Johnson said, "Abercrombie and Fitch has become increasingly stirring in the kinds of imagery that it has placed before the young American public. [Christians need] to have the capability once again be indignant about those things which are evil and damaging to people of all ages." Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Cover Stories | Top Of Page Send mail to The Voice| Journalism department website © 2002 The Voice. No part of this publication may be reproduced in written or electronic form without prior written consent from the journalism adviser of Multnomah Bible College. 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