White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch

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White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch

2022

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

66%

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29 Reviews

29%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

In the late '90s and early '00s, Abercrombie & Fitch was the first stop for many shoppers on their trip to the mall. Shirtless jocks stood guard at store entrances, selling a potent mix of sex and wholesomeness. Pulsing dance beats and the brand's fierce scent drew in hordes of young people hoping to buy themselves a seat at the cool kids' table. Led by outspoken CEO Mike Jeffries, A&F cashed in on an "all-American" image and enshrined its clothes as must-haves for the new millennium. But over time, revelations of exclusionary marketing and discriminatory hiring practices began to engulf the white hot brand in scandal. Featuring interviews with dozens of former employees, executives, and models, WHITE HOT: THE RISE & FALL OF ABERCROMBIE & FITCH unravels the complex history of the iconic brand that influenced an entire generation.

Robert Levin

Newsday

Only people with a serious interest in the recent history of Abercrombie & Fitch, or mall retail in general, should bother with this movie.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 29, 2022

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Mark Feeney

Boston Globe

White Hot makes for lively viewing, though the jangly soundtrack and overactive graphics get wearying. It’s basically two films: a bit gushy on the the go-go years, then relentlessly censorious about the fall.

Apr 28, 2022

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Hannah Lynn

TIME Magazine

Klayman pinpoints how and when the perception of Abercrombie started to change, both in the eyes of consumers and employees.

Apr 25, 2022

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Dónal Lynch

Sunday Independent (Ireland)

If you want a good overview of the scandals currently engulfing ex Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries this is a good place to start.

Feb 5, 2024

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Katherine Monk

Ex-Press.com

An antiseptic dissection of the mall chain that defined a decade of WASPy aspiration, White Hot peels back the flannel and Oxford cloth of Abercrombie & Fitch to reveal a merchandizing plan rooted in exclusion.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 5, 2022

Full Review

Valerie Kalfrin

AWFJ.org

White Hot is perhaps best viewed as a peculiar time capsule. Here’s a brand that hit the zeitgeist through old-fashioned advertising, not Instagram, a bubble of proud privilege that cracked once social media grew enough to amplify marginalized voices.

Jun 13, 2022

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Kate D

Another bloated Netflix doc. Could have been 10 minutes. How boring.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/06/25

Full Review

Huw D

Badly researched poorly produced propaganda piece. Jealous and envy is not a good character trait and this show embodies it. I only watch as I use to shop at A&F between 2004-2014. Best avoided.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/14/23

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Leaburn O

Boring doc that struggled to fill its runtime.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/08/23

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Audience Member

This is the perfect documentary for every 90’s high school kid that chose to be awkward and then hate everyone else for it.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/08/23

Full Review

jon s

It's yet more fodder for the identitarian outrage mob which, in its never-ending quest to find something about which to be offended, is now picking at the carcass of a mall retailer that's been irrelevant for the better part of two decades.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

dan r

'White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch' is an interesting documentary which has recently dropped onto Netflix. SYNOPSIS: 'Abercrombie and Fitch conquered malls in the late '90s and early '00s with gorgeous models, pulsing dance beats and a fierce scent. But their "all-American" image shattered as exclusionary marketing and hiring practices came to light.' In reality only people with a serious interest in the recent history of Abercrombie & Fitch or fashion itself will really get the most out of this. And therefore it was very lost on me. However, there is something interesting here as it's lively in it's delivery with a great soundtrack and fun graphics. Quirky. 6/10

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Alison Klayman

Director

Alison Klayman

Producer

Emmet McDermott

Producer

Hayley Pappas

Producer

Matt Ippolito

Executive Producer

Adam Bardach

Executive Producer

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White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In the late '90s and early '00s, Abercrombie & Fitch was the first stop for many shoppers on their trip to the mall. Shirtless jocks stood guard at store entrances, selling a potent mix of sex and wholesomeness. Pulsing dance beats and the brand's fierce scent drew in hordes of young people hoping to buy themselves a seat at the cool kids' table. Led by outspoken CEO Mike Jeffries, A&F cashed in on an "all-American" image and enshrined its clothes as must-haves for the new millennium. But over time, revelations of exclusionary marketing and discriminatory hiring practices began to engulf the white hot brand in scandal. Featuring interviews with dozens of former employees, executives, and models, WHITE HOT: THE RISE & FALL OF ABERCROMBIE & FITCH unravels the complex history of the iconic brand that influenced an entire generation.

Director: Alison Klayman
Producer: Alison Klayman, Emmet McDermott, Hayley Pappas
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2022