although the turnaround hasn’t been as swift as some would like, things are definitely looking up at the gap. patrick robinson’s recent collections for spring and fall have been well received, and they have responded quickly to the economy and the need to have promos or marked down merchandise. that fact, however, doesn’t mean that gap has abandoned the fashion end of things. as they have done for the past two summers, gap is readying for their collaboration with the cfda to rework the gap standard. not only have they picked a fabric that tends to get a bad rap (khaki), they’ve tapped two of the cfda’s biggest stars at the moment to do the design. as robinson said recently of the collection: “it’s pretty utilitarian…but when you give it to such talent…it’s such a blank canvas.”
lisa mayock & sophie buhai of vena cava have a reputation for creating vintage inspired clothing with unique details. they have quietly built up a fan base of starlets and editors without compromising their work. their khaki looks have cool tribal screenprinting which looks great on the hem of a zip front shift, around the leg of a pair of trousers, or forming a “collar” at the neck of an elastic waist dress.
meanwhile, in most circles, alexander wang can do no wrong…he’s on par with balmain as the most hyped and replicated designer out there, and he won the cfda/vogue fashion fund award for 2008. when i first heard he was one of the designers, i was quite interested to see what he would do. short khaki minis? khaki leggings? no, on both counts. his pieces include a motorcycle jacket, three quarter sleeve “peacoat,” pleated shorts, and jodhpur pants. the wangs are pretty much guaranteed to fly off shelves, especially since all of the pieces will retail under $100.
as part of the launch, gap will unveil an ad campaign featuring arlenis sosa, anna j., coco rocha and raquel zimmerman (three of four appeared in vogue’s may issue). the ads, shot by craig mcdean, could be pretty blah considering the khaki clothes and the khaki backdrop, but the styling keeps things simple and the girls’ smiles lights up the layouts. look for the ads and the collection in mid-june at flagship gap locations (like powell street in san francisco) and at gap.com. and check out more detailed pics of the clothes over at racked.
pics from the gap
