The Glossy 50 honors the year’s biggest changemakers across fashion and beauty. More from the series →
All-American, sure. Happy, yes. Even iconically cool. But fashion with a capital “F” has rarely been used to describe 56-year-old Gap — until Zac Posen joined the company in February 2024.
Since then, the brand’s new GapStudio line — best described as a fashion playground for Posen — has been seen on a slew of red carpets and A-list celebrities, driving buzz and demand while challenging consumers’ perceptions of Gap style.
A custom GapStudio shirtdress worn by Anne Hathaway in May 2024 was recreated for retail at a $158 price point — it sold out within hours, the brand reported. Similarly, after Timothée Chalamet wore a head-to-toe GapStudio look to the 2025 Academy Awards Nominee Dinner, the retailer released a limited drop of the set, which quickly sold out. Others who have worn the line include Da’Vine Joy Randolph, to the 2024 Met Gala; Cynthia Erivo, to the 2024 CFDA Awards; youngest-ever Emmy Award winner Owen Cooper, to the 2025 ceremony; Emily Ratajkowski; Demi Moore; Michael B. Jordan; the list goes on. The first full women’s GapStudio line launched in the U.S. in April 2025, followed by men’s in November.
“It brings brand awareness to a new generation, and allows it to become part of the cultural conversation in a major way,” Posen said, regarding dressing celebs. “Today, we consume, communicate and learn through these [cultural] moments — and so, we definitely see the effects of them: We see the draw, and we see the site traffic. Some of the [looks] we produce, some are not produced. And it’s OK to have moments that are just moments of inspiration.”
Posen was quick to credit Richard Dickson, Gap’s chief executive since August 2023, with giving him that permission and encouraging experimentation. “To evolve a brand, you need surprise and to [lean into] the ‘what ifs’ and ‘why-nots,’” Posen said. “It’s a thought process I value in my CEO and take seriously.”
Posen joined Gap Inc. as the company’s evp and creative director, and chief creative officer of its Old Navy brand. To those who know Posen only for his namesake fashion label, which produced glamorous gowns and seasonal New York Fashion Week shows during its 2001-2019 operations, the appointment was unexpected. But, as Posen tells it, he’s been training his whole career for this.
“Some people think, ‘Oh, the couturier gown guy,’ but the experiences of entrepreneurially running your own business for 20 years and working with very large corporations — from Brooks Brothers [where he had a stint as creative director] to Delta [for which he designed uniforms] to you name it — kind of prepped me,” he said. “Even the experiences of being on TV [as a ‘Project Runway’ judge] and writing my cookbook [helped]. There are so many elements that prepare you for a role like this is, but you can’t put them into a formula or calendar-date them. And this isn’t what I, where I or how I expected, but it really makes sense.”
At Gap Inc., Posen’s fashion eye is leveraged across brands and departments. As a member of the senior leadership team, he said, one day he’s in the boardroom, the next he’s weighing in on how AI can inform the company’s technology evolution.
“We’re redefining how the consumer sees the brands in the future, including how we communicate and story-tell and connect. And we’re world-building, and tightening the purpose of each brand, and the marketing behind that and the product stories,” he said, describing Gap leadership’s current focus. “It’s all about continual movement and pushing the boundaries — and I’m on my toes. I’m giving it my all, and I’m doing it with heart, with strategy, and with care and intelligence on a daily basis, while working through bigger problems and challenges, and finding and fixing [issues] that arise. And it’s been amazing to be part of this moment in time when it’s working.”
Indeed, Gap Inc. is on a hot streak. The company’s third-quarter earnings, reported on November 20, showed revenue of $3.94 billion, up 3% year over year, with sales boosts across its Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic brands. Comparable sales increased for the seventh consecutive quarter, up 5%. These are big wins, considering the state of consumer sentiment, not to mention Gap’s steady sales decline before Dickson moved over from Mattel — its valuation reportedly dropped from around $40 billion in 2020 to $8.41 billion in 2023.
“Zac has been an incredible addition to our leadership team, [making a] significant impact on many creative aspects, inside the company and beyond,” Dickson said on the earnings call. “Elevating the creative conversation across our brands, and highlighting design and product as incredibly important attributes of all of our brands, has been working. And we’re attracting talent to our portfolio that might not have considered a place like Gap Inc. or our brands prior.”
On the creative front, Gap Inc. has made several moves that have made waves this year, including launching product collaborations with Summer Fridays, Dôen and Sandy Liang; and bringing back its song-and-dance-focused campaigns, with the fall denim iteration featuring the girl group Katseye earning 8 billion impressions and 500 million views. In September, Old Navy reintroduced its handbag collection, with Posen’s handiwork a clear contributor.
“Old Navy delivers one of the highest-quality style products in the market for a fair price, and it’s been amazing to be part of its style evolution and customer expansion,” Posen said. “It’s a one-of-a-kind brand, and there’s much more to come.”
