A month after Gap, Inc fired their head designer, Patrick Robinson, they have partnered with Diane von Furstenberg. According to “Gap Fights Fashion Slump with von Furstenberg Deal” by Allstair Barr of Reuters.com, von Furstenberg, famous for women’s clothing, will work with Gap to revamp the baby and kids clothes.
“The collection should be ready by March 2012, and the clothes will be sold through GapKids and babyGap stores in almost 30 countries, including United States, China, and Japan…They will also be available online in 75 countries…”
The article reports Gap is still looking for a lead designer. The inspiration behind the partnership with von Furstenberg is that Gap missed out on the current colorful fashion trend, sticking with neutrals, and von Furstenberg is known for “print, optimistic color and femininity”. The key goal is to boast sales.
I’m a little confused. If Gap believes their lack of sales is due to missing out on a fashion trend in women’s clothing, how will von Furstenberg working in baby and kids clothing solve the problem? Von Furstenberg is known internationally for women’s clothing; why is she not working in this department?
I stated on the previous post about the firing of the head designer that it seems as if Gap expected Robinson to upgrade their line to the levels of Robinson’s previous employers who were high fashion designers. They might have the strategy in this partnership. The expectation that Gap can be turned into a high fashion line means abandoning the entire brand.
While the partnership with von Furstenberg is a step forward, they need someone who can reinvigorate the Gap brand as a whole without copying their competition. A little splash of high design in baby and kids clothing may not increase sales and might, instead, create resentment in adult shoppers who wonder: where are my upgraded Gap clothes?
No comments:
Post a Comment