Since the mid 1990s, the only people more likely to be shirtless in public than Matthew McConaughey have been male models at Abercrombie & Fitch stores. Thankfully, this will no longer be the case.
Longtime A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was relieved of his duties back in December and the company has been working to scrub his era from existence in the months since. The most recent changes, as outlined by the Chicago Tribune, include relaxing the 22-year-old uniform rules that made the New York Yankees sound like hippies.
He had a 40-plus page manual dictating the behavior and dress of passengers and where his dogs should sit on the company’s Gulfstream G550 — which is now up for sale — and until last year he refused to sell clothes in the color black.
The store’s “models” will now be referred to as “brand representatives.” They’ll be able to wear eyeliner and/or have mustaches and/or French-tip manicures. Perhaps most importantly, the company will do away with the iconic sexualized marketing images that have been plastered on its walls, shopping bags and gift cards.
Oh, and “brand representatives” will no longer loiter shirtless outside A&F entrances, so you can finally feel comfortable walking through that section of the mall again without being shamed into rushing home and signing up for CrossFit.
One small step for man, one giant leap for men who look like Seth Rogen when they take their shirts off.
(Via the Chicago Tribune)