Collection Synopsis: Abercrombie & Fitch Menswear S/S 19
David T. Abercrombie founded the company in 1892 as a hunting and fishing company geared towards outdoorsmen. When he met Ezra Fitch soon after, the two had different visions of where they wanted to take the brand and decided to go their own ways. This was the just the beginning of the company’s shift from selling hiking equipment to apparel.
Through the company’s changes, nothing was as drastic as then CEO Mike Jeffries plans to turn Abercrombie’s handwriting to preppy and sexy. While the company grew into one of the top teen apparel stores during the time under Jeffries, he created controversies along the way that damaged the company’s image. Rebranding once again for Fall 2017, Abercrombie has still kept true to it’s heritage of east coast prep and west coast casual but with a new found sense of maturity.
For my collection, I drew inspiration from the elements of adventure and comfort found in the brand’s beginnings as an outdoors company. I wanted to blend the past with the rebranded Abercrombie and Fitch by adding a preppy and ruggedness aspect inspired by vintage rugby uniforms. This concept of blending the old with the new ties into the silhouettes and the idea of moving the company forward. While silhouettes usually stay casual with sweatshirts and tees, upcoming trends such as oversized jackets and pants, indigo trims, and unique twists on denim shorts can easily be translated into the brand’s handwriting. The ruggedness element of this collection includes “pre-stained” prints, distressed textiles, and faded graphic prints. The narrative informs these details as it follows Adrian, a rugby player from Fordham University in New York City and his teammates as they embark on an adventure to a lake house in northern California for their summer vacation. The next two weeks of their trip are filled with memories of the wet boards of the dock, paint chipping off a canoe, and chilly summer mornings and nights.
