A&F Quarterly was an American lifestyle periodical by Abercrombie & Fitch.
The magazine to serve as a promotional vehicle, being targeted towards the college-aged youth (18–22). Its contents prominently feature photo spreads by A&F photographer Bruce Weber and also encompassed a variety of articles on lifestyle, sex, entertainment, travel, dining, and celebrity interviews.
The Quarterly'''s inclusion of nudity and sexuality has been a continual controversial topic. Positive criticism during its initial American run (1997–2003) called it an ingenious marketing tool, the envy of the publishing world, which "redefined the All-American look for teenagers." Negative criticism summarized the catalog as "soft porn" and racy. There were numerous lawsuits and boycotts focusing on moral and religious grounds which included the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families, the American Decency Association, and the Focus on the Family organization.
Abercrombie & Fitch discontinued A&F Quarterly in 2003, and later resurfaced it as a one-time limited edition exclusively for the European market (2008). A&F Quarterly returned in 2010 as an element for the Back-to-School marketing campaign, becoming the first issue sold simultaneously worldwide.
During its American publication, circulation reached a peak of 1.2 million. The Quarterly had a distribution of about 200,000 copies through sales in Abercrombie & Fitch stores (at US$6.00 a copy) and subscriptions ($12.00 a year). Advertisements for A&F Quarterly appeared in Interview, Out, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair.
Original American run (1997-2003)
Initial launch of the "magalog" Abercrombie & Fitch introduced A&F Quarterly as a marketing tool to express the A&F lifestyle. The Quarterly was meant to further establish the image of Abercrombie & Fitch as synonymous with sex and youth: The "neo-preppy and all-American perfection." The publication was coined a "magalog"Laura Bird, "Advertising Beyond Mail Order: Catalogs Now Sell Image, Advice," Wall Street Journal, July 29, 1997, Eastern ed., p. B1. for its purpose of serving as both a magazine and a catalog for the A&F brand. Its contents focused on entertaining, and giving advice to, the collegiate youth with an emphasis of having youthful fun and exploring sexuality.
The company collaborated with prominent figures in the fashion marketing world to produce the publication: Savas Abadsidis, Sam Shahid, and Bruce Weber. Weber had been recognized before for his erotic beefcake photography, and Shahid was notable for his Brooke Shields' "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins" Calvin Klein and his Banana Republic's "Free Souls" campaign. The two had previously worked together at Calvin Klein. For the Quarterly, Abadsidis served as editor-in-chief, Shahid as creative director, and Weber as exclusive photographer. Weber splashed A&F Quarterly with nudity (though non-frontal) and erotic heterosexuality and homosexuality.A&F Quarterly made its debut in June 1997 and quickly became popular. Subsequent publications were released on a quarterly basis, one for each Abercrombie & Fitch fashion season ("Spring Break", "Summer", "Back-to-School", and "Christmas"). The first issue was considered relatively tame, with subsequent publications becoming more and more explicit. Abercrombie & Fitch stores required over-age proof and obscured cover nudity; nonetheless, parents complained that the publication found its way to younger-aged children.
A&F spokesperson Hampton Carney said, "it is beautiful fashion photography. It's clean, sexy, and we think our customers will really love it."
A&F vs American Eagle In June 1998, Abercrombie & Fitch filed a lawsuit against rival clothing retailer American Eagle Outfitters in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleging that "AE impermissibly copied the designs of certain articles of clothing, in-store advertising displays, and a catalog [A&F Quarterly]." In July 1999, the court granted American Eagle's motion for summary judgment in its favor.Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc. v. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., 280 F.3d 619 (6th Cir. 2002).
According to A&F's initial complaint, the company identified A&F Quarterly as one of its "unique and inherently distinctive features"the creation of a cutting edge "cool" image through photographs and advertising and promotional material, such as the A&F Quarterly (the "catalog" or "Quarterly"). The Quarterly presents the Abercrombie brand and trade dress in a unique manner: namely, it features the Abercrombie brand and trade dress in a "cutout" or "clothesline" style [as opposed to only depicting models wearing its apparel] and uses color bars to illustrate the available colors of the item, while combining a consistent conceptual theme with a lifestyle editorial content of music, electronics, books, and magazine features. The catalog is printed on cougar vellum paper, which is unique for a catalog.The district court ruled that what A&F described as its distinctive trade dress was (in the words of the appellate court) "too generic and descriptive" to warrant protection under the Lanham Act. A&F appealed this judgment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which again ruled for American Eagle. The court stated that "Abercrombie's clothing designs and in-store presentations are legally functional non-protectable trade dress and that Abercrombie could not possibly have carried its burden of proving that American's catalog was confusingly similar to what we have presumed is the protectable trade dress of Abercrombie's Quarterly."
The Court of Appeals, in the course of comparing the two stores' catalogs, described the Quarterly as follows:Abercrombie uses grainy images of exceptionally fit and attractive young people in outdoor (often collegiate) settings, alone and in groups, wearing more or less A&F clothing in ways that convey their allegiance to the brand while also seemingly attempting to create a sexual mystique about the wearer....Throughout the Quarterly, A&F makes extensive use of photographs depicting apparently college-aged people in often erotic or homoerotic poses or situations wearing clothes with A&F logos displayed more or less prominently. A&F works with noted fashion photographer Bruce Weber, whose style is well-known in the industry and recognizable by even the uninitiated.The court concluded that although the above characteristics distinguished the Quarterly from AE's catalog,No rational trier of fact could conclude that the overall appearances created by the configuration of the two catalogs are similar....There is so little danger of a consumer picking up the two catalogs and not quickly realizing that they emanate from different sources that judgment as a matter of law for American Eagle is appropriate.Mounting protest and concern Mothers Against Drunk Driving spoke out against the Quarterly after its 1998 "Back-to-School" issue featured alcoholic drink recipes (with names such as "Brain Hemorrhage") and instructions for a drinking game.Carl Quintanilla, "Du-ude! Clothier's Catalog Sells Students on Drinking," Wall Street Journal, July 24, 1998, Eastern ed., p. B1. The Center for Science in the Public Interest also protested the "Drinking 101" promotion,The Full Story , Abercrombie Boycott: Taking a Stand for Decency. Retrieved on May 4, 2008. which advised: "Rather than the standard beer binge, indulge in some creative drinking this semester." The article included recipes for ten mixed drinks and a spinner featuring pictures of each drink, intended to be used in various drinking games. Abercrombie & Fitch ordered the drinking game pages removed from its stores' remaining copies and sent apology letters to its subscribers.Associated Press via Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Abercrombie catalog full of party recipes, July 25, 1998. Retrieved on May 4, 2008.
In 1999, Illinois lieutenant governor Corinne Wood called for a consumer boycott of Abercrombie & Fitch because of the sexually explicit nature of the Quarterly "Naughty or Nice" holiday issue, which included nude photographs and an interview with porn star Jenna Jameson. Among the images that stirred controversy was a picture of Santa and Mrs. Claus engaging in sadomasochistic behavior, across the page from the statement "Sometimes it's good to be bad." The Illinois Coalition of Sexual Assault assisted the boycott. That same year, Michigan attorney general (and later governor) Jennifer Granholm sent a letter to the company complaining that the holiday catalog contained sexual material that could not be distributed to minors under Michigan law. The catalog featured an A&F "sexpert" who offered advice on "sex for three" and told readers willing to "go down" on a date at the movies that it was acceptable, "just so long as you do not disturb those around you." Four states threatened legal action over the issue.
In 2001, cultural conservatives and anti-porn feminists called for a boycott of A&F over the Summer 2001 issue of A&F Quarterly, which included photographs of naked or near-naked young people frolicking on the beach. The images also included top-naked young women and rear-naked young men on top of each other. The head of Concerned Christians of America said, "The exploitation of sex and young people in A&F's catalog is not only atrocious but also a psychological molestation of their teen-age customers." The National Organization for Women criticized the catalog for promoting "unrealistic body types" and displaying images that simulate group sex. The catalog included an interview with porn star Ron Jeremy, who discussed performing oral sex on himself and using a dildo cast from his own penis.
The Back-to-School 2001 issue (subtitled The Brightest) featured a fictitious A&F University backdrop. Photos of women splashing naked in a fountain were inspired by Katharine Hepburn's supposed skinny-dipping at Bryn Mawr College. Another set was inspired by a UC Berkeley student that spent a day nude in class. The typical protest followed the release.
No issues were distributed during the Christmas season following the September 11 attacks, because the company felt the tone of the publication was not suitable for the mood at that time.
Creative Director Sam Shahid generated more criticism with his January 2003 statement: "We don't buckle under to criticism. We feel we're right about what we're doing, I'm not out to hurt anybody and nobody is damaged by any of this."
Non-A&F advertisements Shahid stated that A&F had been thinking about providing commercial space in A&F Quarterly for a long time. The company finally made four spreads available in the Summer 2002 issue, which were bought by Sony Computer Entertainment (for the PlayStation 2 video game console), SoBe, The WB Television Network (promoting Smallville, which starred previous A&F model Tom Welling), and Trek Bicycle Corporation. Spokesmen for WB told The New York Times that they found it intriguing and took the ad space because A&F assured they would be the only television advertiser. Spokeswomen for SoBe called the Quarterly a "good fit" because SoBe targets the same age group as A&F.
The decision to discontinue