Shirts back in fashion at A & F

WHEN US f ashion brand Abercrombie & Fitch set up shop on London’s Savile Row seven years ago, their blaring music and shirtless male models certainly ruffled some feathers on the traditional tailors’ street.

But after years of f l agging sales, the chain has decided to ditch ‘sexualised marketing’ – and ban topless ‘greeters’, pictured, in a bid to clean up their image. The firm, which also owns teen favourite Hollister, said their shop assistants will no longer be hired based on their looks, and will be called ‘brand representatives’ rather than ‘models’.

And they have vowed to stop flanking doors with scantily clad men, who customers used to queue up to meet. It remains unclear whether the move will apply to all UK stores. But a letter sent to US managers last week said: ‘There will be no sexualised materials including in- store photos and shopping bags. Abercrombie & Fitch will not tolerate discrimination in hiring based on body type or physical attractiveness.’

In the past decade the store has found itself battling numerous discrimination lawsuits, with a single settlement costing the company £26million in 2006.