A trailer for Netflix’s next documentary, White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie and Fitch, will follow the retailer, Abercrombie and Fitch, cultural impact and accusations of exclusionary practices and discriminatory hiring, in the late 90s and early 2000s. The documentary pulls back the curtain on the glory days of the retail store, and the dominance it had on society. Alison Klayman is set the direct the film, she also directed the Steve Bannon doc The Brink along with Jagged, about Alanis Morissette’s seminal album Jagged Little Pill. Klayman will produce with Emmett McDermott, who worked at The Hollywood Reporter as an Editor, as well as Haley Pappas.
When asked about the documentary Klayman stated, “While I was working on this film, I learned that whenever I mentioned Abercrombie & Fitch to someone, I was going to hear something personal. About first kisses and teenage insecurities. About where they grew up and how much money their family had. About their relationship to beauty standards, race, and sexuality. About belonging. This film is for everyone who came of age in those years when the brand and its exclusionary vision of what it meant to be ‘all-American’ were touchstones in the culture.”
The store was a staple piece of any young teens fashion sense, in recent years gaining competitors such as Forever 21 and H&M, taking from its market share. The store has faced lawsuits, including a supreme court case, surrounding accusations from a Muslim woman in 2015. The woman accused them of not hiring her because she wore a headscarf.
The documentary is set to be released on Netflix on April 19th. Watch the trailer below.