Abercrombie & Fitch & Moi (à Londres)

I travelled to London for a meeting with the Abercrombie & Fitch team to talk about the upcoming opening of a new Parisian store on the Champs-Elysées.

This venture, occupying more than 9000 square metres – 9525 to be precise (!) – is already considered the most emblematic and impressive of all Abercrombie & Fitch stores currently open.

We will speak in more detail about the Parisian store (above) soon, but I wanted to dedicate this article to my own experience and my relationship with the brand, which hasn’t always been plain sailing.

Abercrombie & Fitch has been talked about for years. The brand fascinates us, there’s no shadow of a doubt, and everyone is talking about it.

So I’m wary of it.

It has to be said, the sweaters and hoodies that my friends brought back from New York, despite looking comfortable, weren’t really my taste with the brand name visible 200 metres away.

It also has to be said that the heady (a euphemism of course) fragrance  “Fierce” didn’t impress me either during my many adventures around American stores.

But it would be simplistic to reduce the brand to this first, unflattering image. Being of a curious disposition, I went to visit the brand’s international teams to learn more about this label that was a favourite of John Kennedy and Theodore Roosevelt.

If I wasn’t attracted at first by these menswear crusaders, I admit I have always admired their methods for recruiting and then maintaining loyal customers.  Following the example of Apple and Apple Stores, the Abercrombie mechanics are oiled to perfection. Just walking into a shop gets all your senses tingling. From the exceedingly friendly welcome, to the scent of perfumes, not forgetting the ‘club’ vibe with the music and dancing sales assistants, everything is done to make sure an A&F visit is like no other shopping experience.

Personally, I still remain more impressed by the concept and the success of this approach than the actual customer experience, seeing as I enjoy a more intimate atmosphere when I scour the shops.

Nevertheless, even if I came across those sweaters that I spoke about earlier and which still leave me unconvinced (or distance me from the brand), I also found some great, high-quality basics that were amazingly comfortable, and some other superb pieces notably in their shirts and their chinos.

I found myself surrounded by people with A&F bags in St Pancras station, feeling “a little bit more American”, and at the same time satisfied for having discovered what Abercrombie & Fitch really offers – apart from perfect topless models – when it comes to clothes.

Go to the Champs-Elysées on May 19^th to find 101 models launching the high-anticipated new store.