Dive Brief:
- Gap is collaborating with London-based skatewear brand Palace on a 55-piece capsule collection, according to a Monday press release.
- The 1990s-inspired collection, launching March 22, will feature adult and children’s apparel including outerwear, tops, bottoms, hoodies and accessories as well as three skate decks and a limited-edition plush toy, per the release. It will be available on the e-commerce sites of both brands, at all Palace stores and at select Gap stores.
- This is the first new collaboration for Gap since Designer Zac Posen was named Gap Inc.’s creative director in February. Posen, who also became chief creative officer of the Old Navy banner, has been tasked with “redefining Gap Inc. for a new era,” per a release announcing his hire.
Dive Insight:
Gap is moving forward by looking back.
In June 2023, the company leaned into its heritage by launching an in-house vintage collection. That line, curated by Sean Wotherspoon, Gap’s vintage curator, included archival items and new pieces designed by Wotherspoon, who sought inspiration from the brand’s in-house 1980s, 1990s and 2000s collections.
The new collaboration with Palace will offer a similarly vintage vibe and pay tribute “to the brands’ shared heritage,” per the release, which said the line would highlight “self-expression, individuality, and community through pieces inspired by ’90s style, skate culture, and a love for San Francisco.”
A Gap spokesperson said in an email to Fashion Dive that the company was “unable to share price points ahead of Friday's launch.” However, a recent collaboration with LoveShackFancy, which also offered adult and children’s clothing, had prices ranging from $13 to $248.
“We love collaborating with partners like Palace who are able to tap into our heritage and reinvent our product icons in a way that is true to their brand DNA,” Mark Breitbard, president and CEO of Gap, said in the release. “Palace is playing by their own rules and we are inspired by their craft. This partnership reflects [the] style and skate culture of the moment, and we are excited for customers to experience this unique expression of Gap.”
This will be Palace’s first collection featuring children’s apparel, per the release. The streetwear brand was co-founded in 2009 by Lev Tanju and Gareth Skewis and has retail locations in London, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Seoul.
“Collaborating with Gap made sense because a lot of us grew up skating in Gap gear in the 1990s,” Tanju said in the release. “Gap is so cool to us: clean, preppy, and all about the good American things like everyone being welcome. Gap put out so much iconic content in the era before it was called content and it’s been a real privilege for us to play in that space with them. And doing our first ever kids' collection with Gap — who make the best kids’ clothes — is really special for us.”
In August 2023, former Mattel COO Richard Dickson took over as Gap Inc’s new CEO. Earlier this month, Gap Inc. reported a Q4 net sales increase of 1.3% to $4.3 billion, and its Gap brand net sales fell 5% to $1 billion for the period.
On the Q4 call with investors, Dickson said Gap is an “incredible storytelling brand, historically, a pop culture brand that truly does more than sell clothes, and today, we're really moving again.”
