How Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries' secret world of model sex parties was exposed by TV documentaries

The nett had been closing astir Mike Jeffries, the erstwhile CEO of manner elephantine Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), for years.

A Netflix amusement successful 2022 lifted the lid connected Jeffries' manner empire, his penchant for scantily-clad models and near-obsession with a marque representation of lone 'good-looking people.'

Then, past year, a BBC investigation claimed Jeffries exploited young men astatine drug-fuelled enactment romps astatine his New York homes and luxury hotels astir the world.

Jeffries, his spouse Matthew Smith and the couple's alleged middle-man James Jacobson were arrested connected enactment trafficking and interstate prostitution charges connected Tuesday, 2 elder instrumentality enforcement officials revealed.

The FBI and New York prosecutors were acceptable to uncover much details astatine a property conference.

Lawyers for Jeffries and Smith person 'vehemently denied' immoderate wrongdoing by some men.

The arrests successful West Palm Beach, Florida, people a spectacular autumn from grace for Jeffries.

Between 1992 and 2014, helium was CEO of the fashionable covering brand, jetting astir the satellite arsenic income roseate acknowledgment to a preppy scope and campaigns with sexy, slim, and mostly-white models.

He was lauded arsenic its 'modern-day founder,' transforming the flailing Ohio-based practice outfitter successful the 1990s to a multi-billion-dollar teen retailer.

But Jeffries was progressively astatine likelihood with the inclination toward inclusivity, and helium faced mounting allegations of fatphobia, racism, and discrimination.

He stepped down successful 2014 pursuing declining income and near with a status bundle valued astatine immoderate $25 million, institution filings astatine the clip showed.

The BBC past twelvemonth revealed that A&F's absorption connected carnal quality went acold beyond the shirtless antheral greeters astatine the doors of its stores.

While helium headed the company, Jeffries, unneurotic with Smith, utilized a middleman to enlistee young big men seeking to go A&F models for enactment parties, it is claimed.

They allegedly exploited men for enactment astatine events hosted successful his New York residences and luxurious hotels astir the world, including successful London, Paris, Venice, and Marrakesh.

A twelve men described attending oregon organizing events involving enactment acts tally for the manner mogul, 80, and his British spouse Smith, 61, betwixt 2009 and 2015.

At the parties, Jeffries and Smith allegedly had enactment with astir 4 men, oregon directed them to person enactment with each other.

Afterward, the men received envelopes filled with thousands of dollars successful cash, it is claimed.

Some said they were misled astir the events, oregon were not told that enactment was involved.

Others claimed they had drugs slipped into their drinks and whitethorn person been raped.

Among the alleged victims was David Bradberry, who was 23 erstwhile helium was introduced successful 2010 to Jacobson.

He was told that Jacobson was a gatekeeper to Jeffries, brag of 1 of the world's astir celebrated brands.

Jacobson allegedly told him that to get an A&F modeling gig, helium would request to fto Jeffries 'perform oral enactment connected me,' Bradberry told the BBC.

The young exemplary aboriginal accepted an invitation to Jeffries' erstwhile $29 cardinal location successful the Hamptons.

There, Jeffries gave him the cheery enactment cause 'poppers,' and aboriginal had enactment with him, helium said.

The largest recorded enactment enactment was held successful 2011 astatine a five-star edifice successful Marrakesh, Morocco, where, dozens of wannabe models and different men were flown successful for a nighttime of dancing and oral sex.

Jacobson, the alleged middleman, said the antheral models were paid 'consensual' participants.

'Everyone I came into interaction with who attended these events went successful with their eyes wide open,' helium said.

A twelvemonth earlier those shocking revelations, the Netflix documentary White Hot had offered a glimpse wrong Jeffries beauty-obsessed caput and his attack to the manner business.

It charts A&F's emergence to monolithic income and taste power successful the '90s and '00s and the charges of racism, fatphobia, and favoritism that yet led to its downfall.

Jeffries was praised for turning the institution around, with its famously sexy ads, featuring partially-clothed models, often successful intimate poses.

The representation displacement worked, and the institution steadily grew, expanding from 26 stores with $50 cardinal successful income successful 1992 to 125 stores and $335 successful income successful 1996, erstwhile it went public, according to Bloomberg.

It continued to grow into the caller millennium, with a covering enactment for younger kids successful 1998 and different brand, Hollister, successful 2000.

By then, A&F was massively fashionable for teens, and its sexy ads were iconic.

Over the years, large stars modeled for the brand, often earlier 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 institution was coming nether occurrence for racism from number groups.

Sales associates astatine the stores were considered 'models,' and retail locations denied applicants who did not acceptable a definite 'look' — which allegedly often included minorities.

Others complained that they were not young oregon slim capable to correspond the brand.

But Jeffries was unapologetic and openly admitted the institution was successful immoderate ways 'exclusionary.'

He unabashedly explained his preferences successful a 2006 interrogation with Salon, successful which helium said that intersexual attraction was 'almost everything.'

'That's wherefore we prosecute good-looking radical successful our stores. Because good-looking radical pull different good-looking people, and we privation to marketplace to cool, good-looking people. We don't marketplace to anyone different than that,' helium said.

'In each school, determination are the chill and fashionable kids, and past determination are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we spell aft the chill kids. We spell aft the charismatic all-American kid with a large cognition and a batch of friends.'

A suit successful 2012 besides lifted the lid connected Jeffries' exacting standards for unit connected A&F firm flights – including that the CEO required antheral unit to deterioration the brand's underwear.

The azygous included A&F jeans, polo shirts, flip-flops, sweatshirts, and a wintertime overgarment that indispensable beryllium donned, with the collar flipped, erstwhile the somesthesia fell to 50 degrees oregon lower, according to Bloomberg.