If you haven’t heard of White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch, then you’re in for a real treat.
On this week’s episode of PureWow’s new Stream On podcast, co-hosts Phil Mutz and Rachel Gulmi highlighted the brand-new Netflix film during the installment’s documentary spotlight. *Cue the dramatic sound effect*
At the 20:50 mark above, Mutz dives into a real-time review of White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch. He says, “It explores the creation of the brand, how it exploded and then eventually its downfall.”
Mutz continues, “Prior to watching this documentary, I don’t know if I even thought that Abercrombie & Fitch had any kind of real effect on the world, other than stupid clothes that had a moose on it. But then you watch this and go, ‘Oh, no.’ This shaped the way a generation thought about fashion and looks and body and race and size. What it means to be a ‘cool kid.’”
The co-host reveals that the biggest takeaways are the behind-the-scenes secrets that White Hot uncovers. “It’s the business practices and that they would only hire ‘beautiful’ people to be working in the stores,” he explains. “And ‘beautiful’ meant white.”
Gulmi agrees that the documentary is extremely eye-opening. She also talks about the future of Abercrombie, which has since re-branded and appointed a new CEO. “Abercrombie has made a comeback because they’re doing well now,” she says. “I know a lot of people say that their jeans—well, women’s jeans—are very size inclusive, which is great.”
In the episode, Mutz and Gulmi also discuss Russian Doll season 2, which is receiving mixed reviews. (While Gulmi is enjoying the new installment, Mutz isn’t as impressed.)
Don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the podcast. And as always, keep calm and Stream On.
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