Man attempts to rebrand Abercrombie by giving clothes to homeless

Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries wants only cool people wearing his gear. L.A. filmmaker Greg Karber is changing that

Published May 15, 2013 6:47PM (EDT)

Inspired by the odious comments of Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, filmmaker Greg Karber recently set out on a mission to clothe the homeless of Los Angeles with the preppy attire that's only supposed to be for "cool kids."

In 2006, Jeffries told Salon: “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely."

Jeffries attempts to enforce his "cool kids" policy by refusing to stock XL or XXL sizes. In a recent article on Business Insider, “The New Rules of Retail" author Robin Lewis said of Jeffries: "He doesn't want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people."

Karber, disgusted by Jeffries' blatant discrimination, has set out to rebrand the image of Abercrombie by handing out the preppy clothes to those Jeffries probably considers the least "cool" of society -- the homeless. After hunting through the "douchebag section" of Goodwill, Karber ventured to L.A.'s Skid Row. Some of the people were reluctant to accept, says Karber. "Perhaps they were afraid of being perceived as narcissistic date rapists."


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Abercrombie And Fitch Clothing Homeless Los Angeles Mike Jeffries Video