“Coming soon. Gap x Cult Gaia” flashed across my Instagram feed on Monday morning. I would say I was surprised, but after this summer, there’s seemingly no limit to what Gap, and its new leader, Zac Posen, can do.
Gap Inc., an American clothing company that also owns brands Athleta, Old Navy and Banana Republic, is typically known as a store where both male and female consumers can buy mid-priced basics. The same goes for its popular children’s brand, GapKids.
Gap has been a staple in the industry for decades, but it has never been a particularly trendy brand. It was a brand for basics, generally non-imaginative clothing that your mom would approve of. In the past 20 years, sales at Gap have been declining, and the company drastically cut back its retail presence in North America by almost half.
In recent months, however, Gap has made major strides in the fashion industry, beginning this summer.
On May 17, Gap released a 51-piece collection in collaboration with DÔEN, a high-end, women’s fashion brand known for its “cottagecore” clothing, whose pieces look as though they’re designed for a summer in Nantucket. The collection was an instant success — it flooded the TikTok fashion space, and female consumers were more than happy to buy pieces that looked like DÔEN, but with Gap pricing. DÔEN’s blouses typically cost $180 or more, versus the Gap x DÔEN blouse’s price of $79.95. For its campaign, Gap and DÔEN employed sisters and models Ruby and Lily Aldridge.
Just two months later in July, Gap released another collaboration with the popular LA-based lifestyle brand Madhappy, a 41-piece collection with pieces for men, women and children. The campaign featured popular figures such as fashion influencer and founder of Wildflower Cases Devon Lee Carlson, musical artist 070 Shake, model Ottawa Kwami and model Stella Lucia.
Again, the collaboration featured pieces with Madhappy-inspired designs, but at a much more affordable rate. The collection ranged in price from $34.95 to $158 — Madhappy sweatshirts typically cost upwards of $160. The collection remains sold out.
If its successful summer wasn’t enough, Gap launched its fall 2024 “Get Loose” campaign, which features “denim with a collection of loose styles that allow for self-expression,” according to Mark Breitbard, president and CEO of the company.
The face of the campaign? International sensation Troye Sivan, whose hit 2023 album “Something to Give Each Other” catapulted the Australian singer-songwriter to both critical and Internet acclaim. Sivan’s music videos, particularly for his single “Rush,” feature him dancing with standout choreography – the “Rush” music video got a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video at the 66th Grammy Awards.
However, this isn’t the first time Gap used celebrity stardom for visually compelling campaigns. In February 2024, Gap released their spring 2024 campaign focused on their linen products, called “Linen Moves.” The campaign featured Grammy-winner and breakout star Tyla dancing to “Back on 74″ by Jungle, right off the heels of her hit single, “Water.”
With Sivan’s feature in the fall “Get Loose” campaign and Tyla’s in spring’s “Linen Moves,” Gap clearly has its finger on the pulse of pop culture, consumer wants and trending brands for collaboration. Its strategic marketing and collaborations mark a huge evolution for the once creatively-stagnant brand.
Who is the mastermind behind the genius rebrand? The former fashion darling, Zac Posen.
Posen’s designs caught the attention of ‘90s supermodel Naomi Campbell when he was just a college student at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. The New York Times titled an article about Posen “A Star is Born” in 2001 when he was 20 years old and beginning his career.
The Times was correct — Zac Posen’s gowns were a fixture of the red carpet for over a decade. He has dressed nearly every A-list, American female celebrity imaginable for major red carpet events. He was a judge on the popular series “Project Runway” for five seasons, and was the creative director for Brooks Brothers from 2014 to 2020.
However, Posen’s career hit a rut when House of Z, his fashion company, was shut down by investment firm Yucaipa Companies in 2019, who had been trying to sell their stake in the label months before pulling the plug. Barneys New York, the once-legendary department store that stocked Posen’s gowns, was also sold and ceased operation shortly after. The brand’s intellectual property, including the name Zac Posen, was also sold — gowns under the Zac Posen label at Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s have nothing to do with his actual designs.
Since then, he had not held a major fashion position, freelancing and taking commissions with various individuals and companies.
Gap announced Posen’s appointment as executive vice president and creative director of Gap and chief creative officer of Old Navy in February 2024. The appointment was made under the leadership of Gap’s newly-appointed CEO, Richard Dickson, former president and chief operating officer of Mattel.
This move effectively brought Posen back onto the fashion map. However, it was a big risk — Posen had never been at the helm of a major company before, and the casual Gap was a far cry from the glitzy red carpets and ball gowns that Posen is known for. As the New York Times put it, he traded his tuxedos for jeans.
However, Posen has still managed to bring Gap to the red carpet.
His red carpet debut with Gap came when he designed a custom denim Gap gown for Da’Vine Joy Randolph at the 2024 Met Gala, marking the first time that a celebrity had worn Gap on the Met Gala red carpet.
Right after the hit Gap x DÔEN collection was released, Anne Hathaway wore a Posen-designed, $158 Gap shirtdress at a Bvlgari event in May. Posen designed the dress specifically for Hathaway, and made it available to purchase online. It sold out almost instantaneously.
Posen’s willingness to mix high-low fashion in not only his own designs, but with Gap’s collaborations, mirrors his own journey in the fashion industry and has resonated with female consumers in particular.
Now 43 years old, Posen’s days of being a fashion prodigy are over — it’s his responsibility to revitalize the brand, and so far, he’s doing a stellar job.
For the holiday season, Gap will release their new collaboration with Cult Gaia, a high-end, LA-based, beachwear-inspired clothing brand, on Thursday, October 10. Cult Gaia is notable for its innovative, unique silhouettes and artistic approach to clothing. The collection will include 35 pieces for women and children but will be significantly more expensive than previous Gap collaborations, with prices ranging up to $498.
The collaboration, which has already hit fashion TikTok, will likely be another smashing success for Posen’s Gap revival, even despite the significant price increase. Gap’s — and Posen’s — metamorphosis has just begun.
“This is really the beginning and I feel so premature with all of this, but we are in the cultural conversation and the brand is being spoken about,” Posen told CNN.
Only time will tell what more Posen has in mind for the company.