Skip to main content
BoF Logo

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Why Gap Is Going Premium

With the new GapStudio line, creative director Zac Posen is introducing an edgier, fashion-forward perspective and a platform for monetising his designs on the red carpet, such as Gap’s latest custom outfit for Timothée Chalamet.
GapStudio campagin
Designed and developed by Gap Inc. creative director Zac Posen, GapStudio will also house his special projects for celebrities and red carpet dressing. (Mario Sorrenti)

The Daily Digest Newsletter

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.
Plus, access one complimentary BoF Professional article of your choice, each month.

A year and a half into its turnaround, Gap is undertaking its most ambitious project yet: a new label.

On Thursday, the brand will launch the first full GapStudio collection, a premium line that aims to translate for the masses some of the red carpet energy Zac Posen has brought to the brand since his appointment as Gap Inc. creative director early last year. The 24 styles include bubble skirts, corset tops and other looks that are meant to feel more fashion-forward than Gap’s typical basics.

At $80 to $250, they’ll be sold at a more upscale price point as well. In dipping a toe into the category above mass fashion, Gap is looking to compete with the likes of J.Crew, Inditex’s Massimo Dutti and H&M’s elevated sister brand, Cos.

The official launch of the line — GapStudio released an inaugural capsule collection for holiday 2024 — comes on the heels of a remarkable year for the Gap Inc. group, which also owns Old Navy, Athleta and Banana Republic. In the fiscal year ending Feb. 1, comparable sales grew in every quarter.

ADVERTISEMENT

GapStudio campaign
The first full GapStudio collection includes bubble skirts, corset tops and other looks that are meant to feel more fashion-forward than Gap’s typical basics. (Mario Sorrenti)

But Gap Inc. still has a long way to go. Its net sales of $15.1 billion last year lags behind the $16.4 billion the company generated a decade prior, when it was already struggling to adapt to shifting market forces, including fast fashion competition from Zara and H&M, and more recently, Shein and Temu.

GapStudio is in some ways an answer to the challenge posed by those rivals. Designed and developed by Posen, GapStudio will also house his special projects for celebrities and red carpet dressing, such as the satin two-piece set for actor Timothée Chalamet on his Oscars press tour last month and a viral shirtdress Posen designed for Anne Hathaway last summer.

During a tour of the new GapStudio atelier in New York last week, Posen said it was that look that led to the creation of the new line.

“Within two weeks of her wearing the dress, we’d sold out of it, and I posed this amazing question that [Gap Inc. CEO Richard Dickson] often asks, which is ‘What if? Why not?‘” Posen said.

GapStudio campaign
While GapStudio will not adhere to a strict cadence of drops, its seasonal collections will augment Gap’s main line with more trend-driven pieces and an edgier point-of-view, according to Posen. (Mario Sorrenti)

“What if we built a hub for creativity in our headquarters, a place where we could use our artisanal skillsets to create one-of-a-kind cultural moments?” Posen added. “And what if this could also be a capsule collection that added a style elevation to the existing line that was still accessible in price point?”

In building the new atelier, Posen hired some members of his team at his namesake brand, which was dissolved in 2019, including his former sewer and pattern-maker with whom he had worked for more than a decade.

Filling in the Gaps

GapStudio is a continuation of Dickson’s steady turnaround strategy centred around cultural relevance — one that added some badly needed buzz to more bread and butter reforms such as improved products, a website refresh and modernised stores. Gap’s latest marketing moment with “The White Lotus” actress Parker Posey, for instance, builds on a series of other recent playful ads, including its “Get Loose” campaign featuring new denim silhouettes with Troye Sivan as its face.

“We see our ability to attract a younger customer, a new customer of the brand and we’re growing our customer file, we’re growing in relevance,” said Gap brand president and chief executive Mark Breitbard. “How are we doing it? … It’s working on our core [products], layering collabs, working with influencers and continuing to storytell. GapStudio is another layer onto that.”

ADVERTISEMENT

GapStudio campaign
Next to Gap’s more basic, utility-driven assortment, with prices largely under $100, GapStudio styles feature more tailored details, such as extra seams on a slip dress and ribbing on tank tops. (Mario Sorrenti)

While GapStudio will not adhere to a strict cadence of drops, its seasonal collections will augment Gap’s main line with more trend-driven pieces and an edgier point-of-view, according to Posen.

“Looking at the classic Gap elements and seeing what I felt was missing created a little dream wardrobe,” he explained inside the GapStudio atelier. “The fit, the cuts and the lengths are younger and shorter.”

The latest collection includes various mini skirts, crop tops, a fitted jersey dress, denim and leather moto jackets, the Hathaway shirt dress in multiple colours and a trench coat with pleats — the priciest item at $248. Its campaign was shot by Mario Sorrenti, the photographer known for sexually charged editorials in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar in the 1990s, and styled by Alastair McKimm, former editor-in-chief of i-D magazine.

Next to Gap’s more basic, utility-driven assortment, with prices largely under $100, GapStudio styles feature more tailored details, such as extra seams on a slip dress and ribbing on tank tops. Future seasons could potentially include a men’s line.

GapStudio campaign
In building the new GapStudio atelier, Posen hired his team at his namesake brand, including his former sewer and pattern-maker with whom he had worked for more than a decade. (Mario Sorrenti)

For now, the collection will be available for purchase in 10 select Gap stores and online. Breitbard said he expects the line to be just as much of a revenue driver as it is an opportunity to showcase a new design perspective.

“There will be some pieces in GapStudio that start as more limited editions, but that we intend to chase into them and meet demand,” he said.

Under Dickson’s guidance, the marquee Gap brand has made strides in elevating its perception among shoppers by improving merchandising in stores, making discounts and promotions less visible, and revamping the website to include moving lookbooks and a new fit guide.

“Gap has secured its spot at this point in the mind-sphere of Millennials and older Gen-Z,” said retail consultant Gabriella Santaniello. “It’s not the constantly promotional Gap it used to be but more than that, you’ve seen a noticeable improvement in quality, construction and fit.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Gap’s recent collaborations with Los Angeles-based womenswear brands Dôen and Cult Gaia have succeeded in getting new customers in the door, Santaniello said, also pointing to successful category launches at Old Navy, such as its occasionwear capsule late last year. GapStudio will be another way to lure in shoppers looking for something elevated, she added, and because it’s a small collection, it’s not a risk to the brand.

Gap’s turnaround remains a work in progress, Breitbard said.

“The brand is still much bigger than the business,” he added. “It just shows how much opportunity we still have in every category that we compete in.”

Further Reading

The Gap Comeback That’s Actually Working

Gap Inc. has been trying to turn things around for two decades. Now, seven months into designer and BoF 500 member Zac Posen’s tenure as creative lead, there’s early evidence that his efforts to re-energise the company’s flagship brand are delivering results.

Gap Inc. Names Zac Posen Creative Director

The American designer is tasked with reinvigorating the company’s entire portfolio, working directly alongside its new CEO, Richard Dickson, BoF has learned. He’ll also play a more hands-on role at Old Navy as chief creative officer.

Is Gap’s Turnaround Finally Working?

Signs of recovery at the American retailer have convinced some analysts that its stock may be undervalued. Others say it’s too soon to tell, but even the sceptics note improvements on product, merchandising and markdowns.

About the author
Cathaleen Chen
Cathaleen Chen

Cathaleen Chen is Retail Editor at The Business of Fashion. She is based in New York and drives BoF’s coverage of the retail and direct-to-consumer sectors.

© 2025 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Retail
Analysis and advice from the front lines of the retail transformation.

Cult Swim Brand Hunza G Goes for Growth

Following a management buyout, creative director Georgiana Huddart and new CEO Krishna Nikhil lay out their plans to double the crinkly one-size-fits-all British swimwear label’s annual sales to £60 million over the next two years.


view more

The Daily Digest Newsletter

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.
Plus, access one complimentary BoF Professional article of your choice, each month.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON