How Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries secret world of model sex parties was exposed by TV documentaries
The net had been closing around Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), for years.
The net had been closing around Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), for years.
A Netflix show in 2022 lifted the lid on Jeffries fashion empire, his penchant for scantily-clad models and near-obsession with a brand image of only good-looking people.
Then, last year, a BBC investigation claimed Jeffries exploited young men at drug-fuelled sex romps at his New York homes and luxury hotels around the world.
Jeffries, his partner Matthew Smith and the couples alleged middle-man James Jacobson were arrested on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges on Tuesday, two senior law enforcement officials revealed.
The FBI and New York prosecutors were set to reveal more details at a press conference.
Former Abercrombie & Fitch boss Mike Jeffries was arrested on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges on Tuesday.
Model Keith Milkie claimed Jeffries and Smith deliberately targeted straight men they could coerce into gay sex.
Lawyers for Jeffries and Smith have vehemently denied any wrongdoing by both men.
The arrests in West Palm Beach, Florida, mark a spectacular fall from grace for Jeffries.
Between 1992 and 2014, he was CEO of the popular clothing brand, jetting around the world as sales rose thanks to a preppy range and campaigns with sexy, slim, and mostly-white models.
He was lauded as its modern-day founder, transforming the flailing Ohio-based heritage outfitter in the 1990s to a multi-billion-dollar teen retailer.
But Jeffries was increasingly at odds with the trend toward inclusivity, and he faced mounting allegations of fatphobia, racism, and discrimination.
He stepped down in 2014 following declining sales and left with a retirement package valued at some $25 million, company filings at the time showed.
The BBC last year revealed that A&Fs focus on physical beauty went far beyond the shirtless male greeters at the doors of its stores.
While he headed the company, Jeffries, together with Smith, used a middleman to recruit young adult men seeking to become A&F models for sex parties, it is claimed.
They allegedly exploited men for sex at events hosted in his New York residences and luxurious hotels around the world, including in London, Paris, Venice, and Marrakesh.
A dozen men described attending or organizing events involving sex acts run for the fashion mogul, 80, and his British partner Smith, 61, between 2009 and 2015.
At the parties, Jeffries and Smith allegedly had sex with about four men, or directed them to have sex with each other.
Mr Jeffries and his life partner Matthew Smith (left) are accused of recruiting men for sex parties and coercing them into sexual acts they were not comfortable with
When Jeffries ran the fashion giant, shirtless male greeters welcomed shoppers into stores that were staffed by attractive, mostly-white sales assistants.
Afterward, the men received envelopes filled with thousands of dollars in cash, it is claimed.
Some said they were misled about the events, or were not told that sex was involved.
Others claimed they had drugs slipped into their drinks and may have been raped.
Among the alleged victims was David Bradberry, who was 23 when he was introduced in 2010 to Jacobson.
He was told that Jacobson was a gatekeeper to Jeffries, boss of one of the worlds most famous brands.
Jacobson allegedly told him that to get an A&F modeling gig, he would need to let Jeffries perform oral sex on me, Bradberry told the BBC.
The young model later accepted an invitation to Jeffries former $29 million home in the Hamptons.
There, Jeffries gave him the gay sex drug poppers, and later had sex with him, he said.
The largest recorded sex party was held in 2011 at a five-star hotel in Marrakesh, Morocco, where, dozens of wannabe models and other men were flown in for a night of dancing and oral sex.
Jacobson, the alleged middleman, said the male models were paid consensual participants.
Everyone I came into contact with who attended these events went in with their eyes wide open, he said.
A year before those shocking revelations, the Netflix documentary White Hot had offered a glimpse inside Jeffries beauty-obsessed mind and his approach to the fashion business.
It charts A&Fs rise to massive sales and cultural influence in the 90s and 00s and the charges of racism, fatphobia, and discrimination that ultimately led to its downfall.
Diego Guillen, who was paid to call people to invite them to the alleged sex parties, said he took part in them and that all involved did so consensually
Jeffries was praised for turning the company around, with its famously sexy ads, featuring partially-clothed models, often in intimate poses.
The image shift worked, and the company steadily grew, expanding from 26 stores with $50 million in sales in 1992 to 125 stores and $335 in sales in 1996, when it went public, according to Bloomberg.
It continued to expand into the new millennium, with a clothing line for younger kids in 1998 and another brand, Hollister, in 2000.
By then, A&F was massively popular for teens, and its sexy ads were iconic.
Over the years, big stars modeled for the brand, often before they made it big. Celebrity A&F models included Jennifer Lawrence, Karlie Kloss, Lindsay Lohan, Sienna Miller, Penn Badgley, Ashton Kutcher, Jamie Dornan, Taylor Swift, Channing Tatum, January Jones, and Olivia Wilde.
But the company was coming under fire for racism from minority groups.
Sales associates at the stores were considered models, and retail locations denied applicants who did not fit a certain look — which allegedly often included minorities.
Others complained that they were not young or slim enough to represent the brand.
But Jeffries was unapologetic and openly admitted the company was in some ways exclusionary.
Jeffries reign at Abercrombie & Fitch was dominated by its controversial brand image and the equally controversial remarks he made about his customer base
Jeffries was praised for turning the fashion brand around, with its famously sexy ads and partially-clothed models.
He unabashedly explained his preferences in a 2006 interview with Salon, in which he said that sexual attraction was almost everything.
Thats why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We dont market to anyone other than that, he said.
In every school, there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. 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 lawsuit in 2012 also lifted the lid on Jeffries exacting standards for crew on A&F corporate flights – including that the CEO required male crew to wear the brands underwear.
The uniform included A&F jeans, polo shirts, flip-flops, sweatshirts, and a winter coat that must be donned, with the collar flipped, when the temperature fell to 50 degrees or lower, according to Bloomberg.
