Posted on: 02/07/2017

Naomi campbell and GAP


Gap has harnessed its original 90s appeal to create an archive collection that taps into fashion"s current nostalgic mood, a move towards restoring its slightly lost image.The US giant has recruited a slew of high-profile names that represent 90s Gap, as well as a new generation of stars who each reinterpret the archive pieces in their own way. The cast includes Naomi Campbell (who appeared in a 1992 campaign for the brand wearing the same classic T-shirt), as well as the children of previous advert stars - Rumer Willis, Lizzy Jagger, Diana Ross" son Evan, Run DMC"s son, TJ Mizell and Stephen Tyler"s daughter, Chelsea.The collection itself features tank tops, washed straight-leg jeans, oversized hoodies, bodies, sweaters and chest pocket T-shirts. It"s all very 90s Kate Moss-meets-Winona Ryder."The "90s is having a sartorial moment and we have an archive of pieces that set the tone for that decade commercially and culturally, so it seemed right to re-issue some of those pieces and the stories that come with them," said Craig Brommers, Gap chief marketing officer.Following its 90s glory days when everyone owned a Gap logo hoodie, the brand slipped from the high street forefront as names such as Topshop, Zara, Uniqlo and Urban Outfitters boomed. Sales for last year"s third quarter were down three percent, partly due to a fire at its key distribution centre in New York. Its CEO Art Peck questionably blamed the absence of "compelling fashion trends". Somewhere along the way Gap"s laidback, normcore aesthetic became diluted and its clothes became that most doomed word - plain. Its cashmere and denim collections remained strong, but they weren"t enough to maintain its cool - or to tempt shoppers into its stores.However, Vetements have put the everyday and ordinary back in the spotlight again. It"s now cool to wear A DHL logo T-shirt or a Justin Bieber hoodie just so long as you wear it with irony. This Warholian spirit could well give Gap an opportunity for a second coming. Then there"s fashion"s omnipresent love of athleisure � a trend Gap should have run with a few seasons ago. Defying all odds, even Juicy Couture saw the potential in this new mood and managed to make comeback. Let"s not forget the current trend for logos either � Gap would do well to bring back its original logo hoodies, using the original font.Gap has been slow to seize the current fashion zeitgeist, but perhaps its archive collection is just what the brand needs to revive its image. It will, at the very least, talk to the millennials that are vital in today"s fashion marketplace. Now at the right time and with the right people, Gap"s ultimate throwback range is indeed a step in the right direction.