AB FAB. Abercrombie Imports Abs, Sex, and Store To Hong Kong

If you’ve been in Hong Kong only in this past week alone and unless you’ve been living under a rock, then you’d probably know that these are the two biggest issues right now in the city; that 1) according to the Wall Street Journal, HK is suffering from the WORST Air Pollution EVER in its history…

and 2) Abercrombie and Fitch is schooling Hong Kong about Abs, Sex, and How to Launch a Brand… via employing 110 male A&F Models from around the world to run lose and create havoc all over the city for everybody.

This was the scene yesterday, Friday August 3rd after 2PM according to various friends’ social network threads:

From Alan See of theArmoury, whose Tailoring Shop is right above Abercrombie in the same Pedder Building

Fashion Icon, Diana D’Arenberg’s, Instagram

From Michelle Lai / MISCHA

VOGUE China editor, Grace Lam’s, Twitter Account @GraceLamHK

StyleIntel.com’s Blue Carreon Instagrammed them too

Instagram of Butterboom.com’s Pannee

Lifestyle Asia’s Erica Fong

Even friends at Disneyland bumped into these guys! From Mr. Gay Hong Kong’s @DarlinHeiHei Instagram.

and from DJ Angus Wong at W Hotel Hong Kong where all 110 Models are staying in 60 Rooms for the next two weeks…

Society IS Losing Focus.

Literally.

Theatrical. Over-the-top. And yes. Sexy.

And I have to say refreshing. Hong Kong needs to let lose and chill out a bit. While the overall reception to the #HKAbercrombie Invasion has generally been met with wild excitement from Gays and Tai Tai’s mostly, there have been a few level headed individuals who have given me their two cents regarding the Marketing Blast all over the city on both Traditional and Social media.

My friend, Davena Mok,questioned on my Facebook wall who the brand was targeting and pointed out that in this week alone, A&F was facing a significantly weak showing on Wall Street. But the article linked also stated that higher end American brands like Coach (which is next door to Abercrombie in Central), and True Religion (which is located in IFC Mall) also faced weak sales. And personally for me, I think Coach’s bag collection has never looked better… they completely revamped their look and style. It may not be Abercrombie’s fault completely, the higher end market in America and Europe are just not buying as much as they used to. Meanwhile lower end brands like American Eagle (with a location in Harbour City), are doing well with a cheap price point and a new “fast” fashion approach.

Calvin Yiu, designer of Sons + Daughters Eyewear, commented on my Instagram that he finds humor in the Hong Kong masses “reaction” to A+F’s marketing tactics… although also stating that the PR is indeed “refreshing” yet “risky” for what Hong Kong is generally used to.

To Davena and Calvin, I had to state that if they’re not getting the marketing, its probably because they’re A) Not Straight Men who want to look like these guys, B) Gay, or C) Women who are into these guys. Am I wrong? And additionally the huge investment into HK and China (7-8 Million HKD rent a month for the Pedder Building alone) shows that they are serious to follow where the consumers are shopping… China.

That said, I met four of these young gents at Harbour City a few days ago, where they hand delivered me an A&F Quarterly with a limited run of only 500, numbered prints… exclusively for Hong Kong’s launch.

The Limited Edition Bruce Webber Book.

#392 of 500

Inside…

And then this… (I Presume everyone who reads my blog is “Of Age”)

I was inspired to do the same.

Hello Hong Kong. They’re here.

Gettin’ my book. Jason of Toughlove.hk and SUPERWOWOMG got their books too… check out more photos on Brew&Post Facebook.

The Funny. An SMS from a friend of mine who was at WOOBAR W Hong Kong Last night.

Abercrombie and Fitch will open at the historic Pedder Building on August 11th, 2012 at 11AM. The first 50 fans in line who are at least 18 years old will receive the A&F Quarterly as a gift, the remainder will be available with a minimum purchase of HKD 5,000 at the HK Flagship on a first-come first-serve basis. Fans are encouraged to line up early and there will be no reprints.

And why did theWanderlister cover it? It’s a party. It’s in Hong Kong. And we didnt want to be left out for sure.

Abercrombie on FACEBOOK / Abercrombie on TWITTER / Abercrombie on WEIBO

JJ.