Led by designer Zac Posen, the collection, which debuts for Spring 2025, gives a fashion-forward spin on the brand’s classic wardrobe staples.

“Gap, but make it elevated.” That is the mandate by the Executive Vice President, Creative Director of Gap Inc., and Chief Creative Officer of Old Navy Zac Posen, which has set forth for the brand’s new GapStudio offerings. Since taking the reins in February 2024, Posen has overseen all four brands—Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta—and has infused his designer sensibilities into the mass-market sportswear and athletic offerings. Besides churning out great merch, Posen’s task is bringing cultural relevance back to the brand that has ebbed and flowed in the fashion conversation.

Debuting its first fully merchandised GapStudio collection, Posen spoke to FashionNetwork.com from its Tribeca headquarters about the new venture for the American brand most famous for its “normcore” aesthetic.

“Shortly after joining, I had an amazing opportunity to dress Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Role in the movie “The Holdovers”). I put together a studio of freelance designers to introduce an artisanal clothing creation process.

The day after, Anne Hathaway wanted a white shirtdress, so that happened. We produced it quickly, and it sold out quickly. Soon after, Gap Inc. CEO Richard Dixon and Gap brand president and CEO Mark Breitbard considered the GapStudio idea. It’s important that you are performing while transforming and continuing to operate.

The idea was to create one-of-a-kind cultural moments, such as the red carpet, and have a studio as a creative incubator to make this elevated capsule collection that references the codes of the Gap but further evolves them. It’s a bit younger, bringing in younger customers while keeping existing ones. It’s a really important space to play with,” Posen said.

While select pieces were introduced previously, Spring 2025, aka Collection 01, marks the first complete collection, which will bow at ten select locations in the U.S. and internationally in London, Dubai, Mexico City, Prague, Tokyo, and online at Zalando. In New York, the Flatiron store, Times Square, and the East 86th Street location will carry GapStudio. The collection will also be available online at Gap.com under its own vertical.

The collection—which focuses on “style, craftsmanship and quality,” according to a brand release—sees a tailored blazer for $178, something Posen felt was missing; a trench coat at $248; lots of wide-legged denim; miniskirts and bloomer-style skirts; long slip dresses; jersey tank dresses; and shirting-style dresses that, in khaki and white respectively, for example, play upon the brand’s codes of khaki pants, white T-shirts, and tailored shirts, as well as the infamous denim.

The collections also feature luxe knits in tops and dresses Posen says are perfect for date nights and edgy denim corsets and bralettes that beckon Gen Z. The founders’ Donald and Doris Fisher art collection also inspired a cut-out detail on a dress back. A sneak peek at the Summer 2025 collection included breezy, lightweight styles in denim-effect chambray and indigo tie-dye.

“Gap is deeply rooted in an amazing merchandising history, creating it as a modern formula. It changed the game. As we look to the customers of the future, we learn from that incredible knowledge, especially with today’s analytics and data. At the same time, it’s essential to remember creativity—and my role as creative director includes protecting the creative community at all my companies—so we can balance that with the design language. That dialogue will take us to the future with the customer,” Posen continued.

Posen was also quick to point out his fascination with the denim finish process and the origins of the fiber, which comes from cotton and indigo plants. “Working with the washhouses is so cool. People don’t realize how artisanal even getting a seam like this that has been brushed is,” he added.

Also cool is Posen bringing stylist Alistair McKimm into GapStudio to consult. Posen is returning the denim brand to its glory days for the campaign by enlisting Mario Sorrenti to shoot it, featuring Alex Consani, Imaan Hammam, and Anok Yai. In the past, photography legends such as Albert Watson, Annie Leibovitz, Steven Meisel, and the late Patrick Demarchelier have shot for the brand.

“I needed to bring in somebody I thought understood to capture those iconic moments. So, you can see one of our images just starting to see this different kind of elevated vision,” Posen said, pointing to a teaser image of the campaign of three models in the white knit T-shirts and jeans.

Whether the images will resonate with Gen Z, who tend to view the Gap as their parents’ brand, Posen says that data shows headway into the younger consumer in the past year, partly because of moments with celebrities like Randolph and Hathaway but also a surprising stat.

“We’ve entered into cultural zeitgeist with campaigns that we’ve had, and it’s reentered the conversation and been reintroduced. Younger audiences are shopping again in stores; malls are back. They’re filled on the weekends, becoming an experience again. Maybe the original target was nostalgia, but they’ve rediscovered the brand and have reclaimed it on their own,” Posen noted, citing data to back it up.

In elevating the collection, Posen didn’t rule out leather, suede, cashmere, and other luxe materials in subsequent collections. Roughly twenty years ago, earlier designs involved higher-end materials.

“It’s always interesting to find interesting ways to bring in hints of luxury that a customer will appreciate, but we have very strong standards in production, sustainability, et cetera, so they have to fit into the scheme. It’s not easy to find things that fit the price and meet the sustainability markers,” Posen noted.

He was also quick to differentiate the new offerings from Banana Republic, which long held Gap’s “elevated” offering. “It’s a different customer and price point and more fashion-forward,” he said, noting that as they sell jeans at three of the four Gap brands, keeping an eye on each’s own POV is his job.

Denim trends may be the strongest style indicator across the consumer sector; it’s obvious to see a shift. Lately, the runways in Europe have signaled the return of skinny jeans, which didn’t stay dormant long enough for some.

“Skinny jeans, whatever floats your boat. We make enough styles that you can find your fit or style. Old Navy this year, we have every fit from the Rockstar to the Pixie and trend pants that flow there. At Gap, we have the Nineties, low-rise, high-rise,” he suggested, adding. “We watch trend curves and follow analytics and even AI. But another thing you do as a designer is to be a cultural receiver dish, have your finger in the wind, and fuel stuff, too.”