Gap, in partnership with New York-based designer Sandy Liang, launched a collection of women's and children's clothing on Friday.
Liang, a graduate of the Parsons Design School of Design and immediately started her company after 2014, is known for his integration of female nostalgia with downtown. Her collaboration with Gap directed her cult favorite design to the reimagining of Gap’s icons, from bow denim to coats. This combination looks cross-generational appeal and is both fun and wearable.
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“Every time of collaboration has its own handwriting – its own story,” said Mark Breitbard, president and CEO of Gap Brand. “Sandy Liang has fostered both a dedicated community and an iconic design perspective that allows her to reimagine our legacy work as something new but familiar. It is this creative partnership that keeps the gap at the forefront of culture.”
GAP's previous collaboration this year was with Doen, Béis, Harlem's fashion house and Malbon.
Inspired by Liang's memories of growing up in Gap, the collaboration came to life through the imaginative short film “Sandy's Dream Clotet”, animated by renowned visual artist Annie Choi. Centered on a street on the lower east side of New York above her father’s Cantonese restaurant, the film illustrates the dream of a young Sandy Liang as she imagines the fashion possibilities of the future, and the Gap X Sandy Liang collaboration represents her ultimate vision of self-expression. The video will appear across digital channels, including the brand’s website, email, and social networking, and will be displayed on the digital screen of the Gap store with the series.
The event was filmed and directed by Sophie Hur.
“Growing up, Gap was the pinnacle of fashion. I was able to co-create with such an iconic brand that I cherished so much as a kid, but still so important today,” Liang said. “'Sandy's Dream Closet' illustrates how the wear-and-break gap makes me feel like I'm going to be like an adult one day. I want to pick up the pieces that meant a lot to me when I was a kid and reimagine them through today's lenses – celebrating Girls' Generation in all forms while respecting this iconic style, making the gap so stable.”
As a new mom and someone who has loved the brand since childhood, Liang said that the collaboration with Gap was a dream come true. She added: “Working with the GAP team has made my creativity incredible from beginning to end. This partnership allows us to bring Sandy Lin’s world to a wide audience in the United States and internationally.”
Denim is the anchor of the Gap X Sandy Liang range, and its versatile silhouette combines Liang's aesthetic with Gap classics such as Pleated denim denim shoes ($88), vegetarian fur crop crop denim jacket ($128) and low-rise rises 90s' '90s loose carpenter jeans ($108). Liang reinterpreted the classic arched logo on the Extra heavyweight logo oversized hoodie ($118) and the heavyweight bow oversized hoodie ($108), which refreshed the Gap's signature wool.
Instructions include a reversible vegetarian leather Sherpa jacket ($268), a vegan fur semi-zipper cover ($198), and a bow-back trench coat ($228), and a signature bow detail from Liang.
Online exclusive items for babies and toddlers include mini contests inspired by women’s wool and coat styles, which will collaborate across generations, appearing on the campaign with Liang’s son Rainer.
The Gap X Sandy Liang series will be launched on Friday at 9 a.m. ET on GAP.com and select Gap stores, including Grove in Los Angeles, 2 Folsoms in San Francisco, Flatiron and Times Square in New York, and Tyson Corner in Fairfax County, Virginia, and Liang’s flagship store in New York City. The cooperation will also be open in international markets including the Middle East, the Czech Republic, the Philippines, Mexico, Turkey, Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and Zalando.com.
Prices range from $15 to $268.
In the past, Liang has collaborated with brands such as Beats, Salomon and Baggu. This gap collaboration marks her first children’s outfit.
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