The news: Gap launched GapStudio, a new line of elevated takes on the retailer’s classic designs by executive vice president and creative director Zac Posen, per Vogue.
- While Posen’s portfolio spans design, retail, and advertising across the retailer’s brands—Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta—GapStudio is the only collection featuring his designs.
- A limited selection of holiday pieces debuted online last week, with the full 53-piece collection launching in March. It features items such as tailored sailor pants, logo sweatshirts, and new colorways of the “Anne Hathaway dress”—the shirtdress Posen designed for Hathaway to wear at the Bulgari Aeterna High Jewelry event in Rome that sold out within hours of its public release earlier this year.
Why it matters: GapStudio aims to capture shoppers’ attention and rekindle interest in Gap.
- “If Louis Vuitton can have ball gowns that they don’t produce on a red carpet in order to sell luggage, why can’t Gap have a T-shirt gown on the red carpet? But we’ll actually produce it,” Posen told Vogue.
- Key to the retailer’s strategy is the line’s accessibility—prices range from $128 to $248, and sizes span XS to XXL and 00 to 16.
Our take: Gap’s management is making the retailer relevant again.
In addition to GapStyle, the retailer’s various strategic collaborations—with apparel brands such as Cult Gaia and Palace and movie franchises including “Wicked” and “Star Wars”—have injected fresh energy into a brand that had gone stale.
Consumers have taken notice; Gap Inc.’s sales have grown for four straight quarters.