Gap has been flying solo without a creative director for a while after firing Patrick Robinson just over a year ago. Now it has finally found a replacement and a pretty good one too. Yesterday the brand confirmed that Rebekka Bay will take the role of creative director and executive vice president starting Oct 1.
While her name may not ring a bell, you're definitely familiar with her work. She was the person that "conceptualized, developed and launched" H&M-owned brand, Cos. That experience will prove invaluable to Gap who, admittedly, have a had a rocky past few years
'We've taken the time to identify the right creative leader for Gap and we've found that in Rebekka,' Gap Inc. president Stephen Sunnucks said in a release. 'We're confident that Rebekka's approach to design along with her considerable international experience will allow her to help us build upon the momentum we're delivering in the business today.'
It's official: the musical chairs in the fashion world isn't slowing down anytime soon. In some shock news, Gap has just announced that they have let Patrick Robinson go in his role as executive vice president of the company. In a statement via WWD, the Pam Wallack, head of the Gap Global Creative Center explained that, "After spending the last three months in New York with the creative team, I’ve made the decision to make a change within our Gap Adult design team.
The news hasn't been a shock to some after reports recently surfaced showing that North America's sales has been significantly lower than its international counterparts since Robinson arrived in 2007. As bosses begin to look for a replacement, Jennifer Giangualano - their senior vice president of Gap Kids and Baby design - will step in.
My biggest hurdle has been to change the mind-set of the Gap customer in the U.S. who grew up with the brand and automatically thinks of basics. What I want to offer are interesting essentials - fashion, excitement, newness.
Unsurprisingly, Anna Wintour drew a star studded crowd to her £30,400 per head dinner on Wednesday night, with Harvey Weinstein, Georgina Chapman, Donna Karan, Tory Burch and Calvin Klein all in attendance. The dinner - which the Vogue editor-in-chief hosted at her Greenwich Village home - drew another, rather famous guest... Barack Obama.
The dinner, which was held to raise money for the Democratic National Committee, saw President Obama stay for roughly an hour, although as no speech was to be made, reporters were left waiting in the sidelines for the party to disassemble at the end of the night. Described as "great" by Tory Burch, "fantastic" by Andrew Rosen and "amazing" by Gap's Patrick Robinson, the only thing we were left wondering is what would have been said between Wintour and Obama themselves.
Following rumours that he was frustrated at the company's poor performance over the past decade, Gap's Creative Director of 14 years, Dennis Leggett has left, according to WWD. It appears that there will be no replacement for Leggett, as it has been suggested that creative consulting firm Laird+Partners - who already create most of Gap's campaigns - will take on a bigger role within the company.
Leggett's departure has left most wondering what this means for Patrick Robinson - does it reflect on his designs? Most likely not - take a closer look at the company and it becomes apparent that Gap's CEO, Glenn Murphy, who's last gig was at a drug store, might be brilliant at cutting costs for the company but has no background in retail consumers or the fashion aesthetic. While Robinson may have boosted the Gap morale since joining the company in 2007, it seems perhaps that Murphy needs to reconsider his tactics to keep one of America's most traditional chains alive.
Although we often think of the Gap for its accessible line of basics, this year, we'll associate the brand with an event that's decidedly more high-fashion: the highly anticipated annual Met ball. The Gap is sponsoring the gala this year, and is - sort of - outfitting famous guests as a result. Gap designer Patrick Robinson will team up with Alexander Wang, Rodarte, Thakoon and Sophie Theallet to create gowns for Monday night.
M.I.A. and Zoe Kravitz have selected looks by Alexander Wang for Gap, while Kirsten Dunst, not surprisingly, has chosen Rodarte for Gap, as has Jamie Bochert. The brand's collaboration with Thakoon will be seen on Riley Keough and Kerry Washington, and Vera Farmiga and Jessica Alba reportedly will opt for Sophie Theallet. After the gala, the celebs' dresses will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the Costume Institute.
In other event news, Taylor Swift - like Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel - is rumoured to be a guest of Ralph Lauren, while Michael Kors will take Chanel Iman, Natasha Poly, Carolyn Murphy, Brooke Shields and Diane Lane. Going with Kenneth Cole? Matthew Morrison of 'Glee' fame, plus Stanley Tucci and Emmy Rossum. Check back next week for full details...and first looks of all the great styles.
The possibility of hostess Oprah being dressed by Gap (well, Patrick Robinson) for this year's Met Ball has been quashed by WWD, who reports the television tycoon will be dressed by Oscar de la Renta for this year's event. In other 'who's dressing who' rumours, Christian Siriano - winner of the fourth series of Project Runway - has tweeted he has a dress for the Met Ball in the works.
It could be likely that Christina Hendricks will sport Siriano again, proving the critics who slated the creation she wore of his to the Golden Globes wrong? However, as it currently remains to be seen who the American designer will be dressing, and the yearly Met Ball rumours beginning to fly, watch this space...
With the Met Ball less than a month away, it is only natural that rumours are beginning to circulate about this year's event - which will be the first ball to have Oprah as hostess, Gap as sponsorship and Sylvana Soto-Ward as Vogue's Director of Special Events.
Although the sponsorship from Gap will mean the Met Ball will have a considerable amount of money behind it, the event is usually good for brand exposure, and we're not sure we can imagine anyone rocking Gap on the red carpet. That said, there has been speculation that Gap's head designer, Patrick Robinson is to create two custom gowns - bets are on for who he'll be dressing. Oprah? Or maybe his wife, Virginia Smith? We hear Oprah's been in talks with Oscar de la Renta, though? Watch this space...
Named 'Close', the characteristically American brand Gap is launching the new scent in its stores on Monday 19th October. In true Gap style, prices start at just £5. Gap's Creative Director, Patrick Robinson, was inspired by the classic Gap wardrobe to create the fresh, crisp scent.
"My team is constantly reworking our formula to keep Gap cool and relevant. That's the most important thing to me. Being sexy is part of that lifestyle, and that was the first criteria for this fragrance. It had to be sexy, sensual and beautiful. This aesthetic extends to the bottle design too, crafted to reflect a pure white Opal. When I think of Gap, I think of a white shirt, khakis, and a pair of jeans, and all of those show up in an opal," said Robinson.
