Gap Is on the Verge of a Renaissance

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Contents

Twill Double-Breasted Tailored Blazer Poplin Cropped Shirt High Rise Twill Sailor Pants Denim Seamed Midi Dress Coated Denim Moto Jacket Satin Slip Dress Twill Tailored Trench Coat Poplin Cropped Shirt High Rise Denim Sailor Pants Seamed Jersey Tank Dress Bubble Mini Skirt Poplin Maxi Shirtdress VintageSoft STUDIO Sweatshirt Denim Cropped Moto Jacket Satin Slip Dress Seamed Denim Dress Satin Slip Dress Denim Corset Belt

Last week at Gap’s New York headquarters, Zac Posen had a large iced coffee in one hand and a cotton poplin shirtdress in the other. The dress, with pleats at the bodice and an A-line shape, was a reiteration of the viral design worn last summer by Anne Hathaway, rendered in new colorways like deep tan and navy blue, in addition to the original white version. The look is a part of the first full GapStudio collection, out today and designed in the company’s brand new atelier.

The idea is the brainchild of Posen, Gap Inc.’s Executive Vice President and Creative Director since February 2024. Crafted with several members of the design team from Posen’s former namesake line, the collection includes 51 pieces of stylish ready-to-wear at a slightly higher price point (from $78 – $248) than Gap’s main line. These aren’t the basics that built Gap. They star in a new campaign styled by Alastair McKimm, photographed by Mario Sorrenti, and modeled by Alex Consani, Imaan Hammam, and Anok Yai. They’re evolutionary wardrobe staples–high-waist sailor pants, a bias-cut tank dress with a mermaid kick pleat, a sculptural, bodycon denim shift, a khaki trench gathered at the back–that bring a touch of glamour and bridge, as Posen put it, “past, present, and future.”

“Nowstalgia” is the term he coined when talking about his vision for GapStudio, a vision that honors the brand’s legacy while simultaneously looking around at the world today and acknowledging the realities of how people dress. There is no tried-and-true formula anymore, no singular way to translate trends. In today’s market, mass fashion is a dynamic melting pot of TikTok “cores,” Substack recommendations, novelty products, dupes, and a lot of okay clothes. What Posen wants to do is bring back some design integrity to the behemoth that is Gap, to give more gravitas to design and to the designers themselves so that they may be an integral part of driving the business. And thus far, it seems to be working–according to Business of Fashion, Gap Inc.’s sales grew in every quarter during the 2024 fiscal year. Posen’s also been a part of launching successful collaborations with Dôen and Harlem’s Fashion Row, a campaign with Parker Posey, and, following the Hathaway dress success, he also designed a custom black satin jacket and pair of pants for Timothée Chalamet to wear while attending this year’s Academy Awards Nominees Dinner.

Chalamet’s look, which was also produced as a capsule and sold out within hours of dropping online, was the first menswear offering from GapStudio and, according to Posen, it won’t be the last. Posen plans on expanding GapStudio to include men’s and potentially kid’s, and they’ll also be bringing in emerging designers from across the globe for collaborations. “Designers having a voice in all of this is really important,” Posen said.

Posen beamed as he walked us through the new atelier space inside Gap’s New York offices (he splits his time between there and the main headquarters in San Francisco, commuting every other week). There were moodboards lining the walls of the entrance to the atelier, one of which was packed full of images of great women in jeans and classics: Rihanna, Sofia Coppola, Allie MacGraw, Tina Turner, Veronica Webb. Two seamstresses were sewing and draping, while dress forms were half-clothed in floor-length skirts, tailored jackets, and suiting. It was like walking into a chapel in a busy airport, a place of solace and reflection, but in this instance, it was one made for creativity instead of prayer. “We have a responsibility to make great product, and it’s always about perfecting and tweaking a process, which is really important as you are transforming while performing.” When asked about what the future holds for GapStudio beyond the new categories, Posen smiles and replies, “We don’t have to define it.”

Risk-taking and experimentation are at the core of what Posen is after in his tenure at Gap. He also wants to get at the question almost every single U.S.-based designer and heritage brand, whatever they sit in the market, is asking today: What does American sportswear mean in 2025? During the Fall collections this February, a handful of designers anchored their collections in ideas of American classics and American style. Some reinvigorated them, a few subverted them, while others took a more literal approach.

Gap now has the opportunity to reinsert itself into that conversation and build on a legacy that once helped to define how Americans dressed. Beginning with the denim, the khaki, the white shirting, and the basics, Posen’s idea is to give Gap customers something reliable, but “the depth is there. We’re giving people their cup of coffee, glass of milk, glass of orange juice, your egg, but then you have the toppers to all of those basics.” He added, “America is also about self-creation. I think the codes of utilitarianism are there in American style: comfort, material, technique, cottons, jerseys, tanks, khakis, denim, poplin. But the poplin is as much Hubert’s Givenchy as it is Claire McCardell. Or a trench coat is as much Bill Blass as it is Burberry.”

Posen’s critics have said that he is too fashion with a capital F to drive the Gap Inc. ship, too much of a red carpet gown guy, or that he isn’t capable of making modern clothes. But perhaps they’re missing the point entirely. The melding of influences in design that Posen described, plus his imagination and intention to experiment and take risks, to build a new world around the Gap label, is precisely the direction fashion is moving in right now.

The GapStudio corset belts will surely satisfy the Gen Z girl who wears her Gap t-shirt with a Chopova Lowena skirt. The bubble hem shorts may excite a slightly older customer who shuffles around downtown in her beat-up Chanel ballet flats and wears her grandmother’s fur stole around her neck. The crisp blazers will maybe find fans in the Millennial in need of a great jacket for the office, one that’ll look perfect with her Toteme trousers. The chambray “Gaptans” (read: caftans) will probably be bought in bulk by the wealthy women of Southern California who carry Birkins to the beach. The spectrum of classic to cool is often dissected too deeply by mass fashion brands, to the point where they wind up with easy runway knockoffs or blah throw-on-and-go garments and, it should be noted, of course, an indescribable and disturbing amount of churn and waste.

Gap’s comeback, pushed further by the introduction of GapStudio’s first collection today, may actually be an exciting renaissance moment with much more to come. “For an American brand to invest in having a studio that is creating an artisanal way of developing is pretty unprecedented,” Posen said. “It’s pretty cool to be able to develop at such a high level and then make it for such a large audience.” He added, “I really do still believe in discovery. You can follow algorithms and say who is on a trend curve and all of that. But sometimes, it’s about storytelling. I’ve learned that, and that is a very American discovery.”