Hollister is the hottest thing in Abercrombie & Fitch’s wardrobe again

The stage in life where you start saying, “That was in fashion when I was your age!” sadly comes for us all, as trend cycles continue to spin — spitting everything from iPods and wired headphones to froyo and baggy jeans back into mainstream culture. 

One brand that’s well positioned (and seemingly very willing) to capitalize on this nostalgia-driven appetite for all things 2000s? Hollister, the coastal-inspired mall staple launched by Abercrombie & Fitch at the turn of the millennium.

Aughts to do

Younger consumers might never understand the uniquely jarring sensory experience of walking into a dimly lit Hollister in the 2000s, to be greeted by shirtless male store assistants and blasted by overwhelming pop chart fodder, since the company revamped its stores around the mid-2010s.

But the brand hasn’t ditched all of its heritage, leaning into its roots with a Y2K revival collection in the summer and a new noughties-tinged Taco Bell collab.

It appears to be paying off, too: a day after announcing the new Taco Bell line, Abercrombie & Fitch reported earnings that crushed expectations and sent shares soaring, with Hollister’s growth cementing its position, once again, as the prize item in Abercrombie’s closet.

Hollister and its parent company more broadly have faced the dilemma: do you age your products with the people who liked them initially — ditching teens for millennials who are starting families and buying houses — or stick to your guns and hope you can still appeal to teenagers today?

Between its two biggest brands, A&F has managed to do a bit of both. It’s added more diversified offerings for men’s and women’s wear across Abercrombie; it’s also doubled down on the younger demographic through Hollister, having enlisted Gen Z favorite Benson Boone for a promo campaign and pumped money into influencer programs, cultivating demand for youth-targeted ranges.

With Hollister now the “number 1 apparel brand for female teens, disrupting Nike’s dominance,” according to a Piper Sandler survey from earlier this year, A&F’s efforts to modernize the brand seem to be working.