If you are a mother of a certain age, you may remember being dragged to A&F by your teen, for certainly the store’s unique retail environment was not easily forgotten. The stores were as dimly lit as the nightclubs they tried to emulate, and reeked of Fierce, a perfume that was never more appositely named. The sales assistants were dressed less for the prosaic shopping centres they found themselves in than the Californian beach – for this wholesome, preppy, surfy, sexy-in-a-vanilla-way Cali dream was the hook that lured your teenager into badgering you for an overpriced vest top, hipster jean or polo shirts embroidered with a moose. Maybe you even remember having your photograph taken flanked by two of the male sales assistants who stood outside A&F in flip flops and board shorts, naked from the waist up, their patient smiles never faltering as yet another Boden-clad mummy giggled beside them. It was never the teens who wanted their photos taken with these beautiful boys. They were always too embarrassed.

I know, because I worked at A&F’s sister brand, Hollister, for a day. In 2012, I decided the best way to cover Hollister’s UK launch was to go and work on the shop floor of its new store in London’s Regent Street. Hollister is owned by A&F, and pedals the same values and aesthetics. Having peered behind the curtain, I was less shocked by the documentary’s revelations because I saw hints of them firsthand: not the racism (the sales assistants I worked with that day were black and Asian, as well as white) but certainly the chilling levels of control. “Backstage” (as the staff-only areas were called) there were laminated lists all over the walls with exacting instructions not only on how to look, but what to say. Here’s what the “Looks Policy” said about braids alone: “Braids, twists and dreads that are free flowing from the scalp are permitted as long as they are small in diameter, no thicker than ¼ inch, and otherwise comply with the Look Policy. Associates cannot wear braids that are attached, for any significant portion of the braid, to the scalp, e.g. cornrows and French braids.” The script, meanwhile, exhorted us to “BE FRIENDLY! Say hi! Welcome to Hollister! Have a good one! Catch you later! Be sure to check out our hoodies! Our cute summer tops look great!”