We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Mall brands are making a comeback — and GAP, the reliably staid spot for affordable basics like T-shirts and denim, is leading the charge.
On Wednesday, GAP announced that sneaker designer and collector Sean Wotherspoon will join the company as Global Vintage Curator. The role will ostensibly build on Wotherspoon’s previous work curating the brand’s “vintage drops,” featuring GAP pieces from the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s.
The announcement is the latest in GAP’s push for renewed relevancy. Back in February, parent company Gap, Inc. tapped Zac Posen as Creative Director of its namesake brand — plus Chief Creative Officer of its subsidiary, Old Navy.
So far, Posen’s tenure has been a success. Earlier this year, the designer created a structured shirt dress that Anne Hathaway wore (and pulled off with aplomb) at a Bvlgari event. The frock, priced at $158, promptly sold out and is being peddled on resale sites for as much as $395.
Another tentpole moment for the brand came in May in the form of a collaboration with Doên, a label that has charmed celebrities and editors alike with its gauzy, “Cottagecore”-esque separates. The win was followed by another coup in August: Troye Sivan starred in GAP’s Fall 2024 campaign.
And we can’t forget the brand’s ongoing drops with Dapper Dan, all of which have been an unequivocal success. (Less successful was GAP’s YEEZY partnership, which fizzled out in 2022, just two years into a 10-year contract.)
With its recruitment of Wotherspoon — who is the co-founder of buzzy vintage store Round Two — it appears the company is continuing to tap into of-the-moment fashion phenoms to help position itself as a directional force in fashion.
GAP isn’t the only one relying on this strategy. In the past year, Banana Republic partnered with Peter Do on a surprisingly pricey capsule collection, J Crew collaborated with downtown fashion darling Maryam Nassir Zadeh, and Madewell recruited celebrity stylist Molly Dickson (who works with the likes of Bella Hadid and Kaia Gerber) for a line of elevated denim.
Mall brands won’t ever compete with the likes of LOEWE or Miu Miu, but they’re coming into their own kind of cool — one that most everyone can afford.