Creative Directors: Keeping the Brand and The Vision Alive
Originally published for VSNB Online
Bay had only joined Gap back in 2012 following her successful stint at H&M’s sister brand COS, and it was hoped that her influence would help the fashion magnate’s falling sales. However, after two years without any significant changes Gap has thrown it’s toys out of the pram and it’s creative director along with them. Jeff Kirwan, Gap’s Global Brand President, stated that ‘now’s the time to intensify our customer focus and break-through with a truly dynamic and integrated approach to building relationships with our customers.’ This seems like a move away from design changes and a move towards new marketing and business strategies. He also believes that the design team will be able to continue their work without a creative leader, it would be a ‘seamless transition.’ This all sounds well thought out but the problem is, Gap is wrong.
Originally published for VSNB Online
Should the future of the fashion brand be trusted to the minds of the Creative or left to be determined by those with cold, hard business sense? This was the question that was simultaneously raised and answered by international fashion giant Gap, when it announced a leadership restructure in which the creatives certainly lost out. Gap revealed that it would, with immediate effect, be ‘eliminating’ the role of creative director from its design team, making Rebekka Bay, the current holder of the position, redundant.
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The term ‘Creative Director’ might sound like the kind of fluff title created purely to appease celebrities whdo want to put their name to a project. Only recently has Rihanna been revealed as the new creative director for Puma and Olivia Palermo for Ciate London and they both have intensely endorsed new collections to follow. However, for the majority of brands, the role of Creative Director is integral to the inner workings of their design team and significant for the creation and implementation of a brand’s image and ethos. As Bay herself once said: “There’s something in the drape of the neckline [of a T-shirt] that makes it a little bit more.” And in turn, it’s these small creative changes that make a brand just “a little bit more” too.
The most notable example of this in practice is Jenna Lyons and her turn-around of J-Crew. The once flailing brand is now a cult classic with its own fashion week show, and these changes would not have been possible without the direction and vision of Lyons. Similarly Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing has had a huge impact on the brand’s media presence and image. He has brought a younger, more digitally savvy approach to the way Balmain promotes itself and has got the likes of ‘Kimye’ adorning their attire and ad campaigns.
So where does this leave Gap? Well it is clear that this recent leadership restructuring is symptomatic of a mid-life identity crisis. Back in its prime, Gap was the go-to place for denim and casual basics, which it proved to us with powerfully simple adverts and stores filled with clothes we wanted to buy. With the current popularity of normcore and a consumer led desire for more quality basics, Gap should be in its element right now but, brands like Uniqlo, American Apparel and Gap’s own sister company Banana Republic have stolen the spotlight. The reason for this is two-fold, first of all it is only natural for brands to evolve and emerge at different times and Uniqlo et al deserve their time in the limelight. Secondly, these brands have strong personalities and consumers are responding to them rather than remaining faithful to their old favourite Gap, who has lost it’s identity somewhere between preppy college hoodies and experimental ‘fashion’ collections.
To fix this Gap needs to recognise that it has a creative direction problem and it’s a problem that no amount of business strategy can resolve. Perhaps Rebekka Bay wasn’t the right fit for the company, or maybe they didn’t give her enough time but redundancy was not the answer. In the short run this business facing approach might work and I’m sure there are changes that need to be made. However, if Gap wants to have longevity and to stand strong alongside its competitors it needs to go back to basics, in both senses of the word. It must not only focus on its quality essential products but it must also return to the core values that keep the fashion industry alive; creativity and personality. They must understand that when a customer buys an item of clothing they are buying so much more, they are buying into a lifestyle and into an identity. Isn’t that what the crazy world of fashion is about after all?
