Robert Howell - Ruehl for Abercrombie and Fitch

Ruehl started out as a really cool brand based on the Bohomemian style of Greenwich Village from the mid 1950's to 1979 and all of the music, film, literature and happenings that were going on there mixed with heritage and a small nod to the preps. People were really excited about the brand but it didn't grow as rapidly as Abercrombie and Fitch wanted to so they commodified it and made it into a store that had merchandise that looked like it was from Abercrombie just a lot more expensive.

Granted they did sometimes use more expensive techniques and materials but the merchandise was hard to differentiate save for the logos plastered on a lot of items.

Well that didn't work. I was brought on as an Art Director, as were others in different capacities,

to bring Ruehl back into it's original glory but it was too late.

Now Ruehl is a relic.

It took Abercrombie and Fitch a really long time but they finally decided not to put their

logos on anything in their own US stores. We'll see if that helps.