Inside Zac Posen’s new 'Collection 01' for GapStudio: Couture meets everyday cool
The celebrated designer, now EVP & Creative Director of Gap Inc. invited HOLA! to his NY studio to see his new 40-piece capsule that elevates Gap’s core fabrics with runway craftsmanship
Few American designers carry a résumé as pretigious as Zac Posen. The New York-born prodigy debuted on the fashion calendar at just 21 after stints at Parsons and Central Saint Martins, scooped up a CFDA award two years later, and spent six seasons judging Project Runway, all while dressing everyone from Natalie Portman to Rihanna in those famously sculpted gowns.
Zac Posen is now EVP and Creative Director of Gap Inc. and Chief Creative Office of Old Navy
In February 2024, he took on a new challenge: EVP & Creative Director of Gap Inc. and Chief Creative Officer of Old Navy, charged with infusing the 55-year-old retailer’s renowned basics with a dose of couture-calibre polish.
Posen invited ¡HOLA! into Gap’s hush-hush Midtown creative lab, dubbed GapStudio, to preview his first full capsule for the brand. Dubbed Collection 01, the 40-piece lineup (which was released in stores and online earlier this month in the U.S.) reimagines Gap’s signature khaki and denim through Posen’s razor-sharp eye for tailoring: a crisp denim trench, a sailor-front jean, a perfectly cropped blazer.
Celebs like Cynthia Erivo, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Demi Moore have already test-driven custom GapStudio looks; now, Posen wants everyone to experience the fit.
“GapStudio is where craftsmanship, creativity, and culture come together,” he tells us, brushing a bolt of indigo off a worktable. “It’s the lab where we make a $98 skirt feel like a red carpet gown.”
Zac, what was the inspiration behind GapStudio Collection 01?
The inspiration for this collection was to take classic Gap and elevate it. It’s about bringing more fashion and style to the brand for a younger consumer, really cute pieces with a street-style vibe and great looks.
There are about 38–40 styles, and with the additional colorways the count goes up slightly.
What colors and textures did you work with?
We started with a classic Gap palette—off-white, khaki, great denims, darker indigo, and black—then added a pop of “international orange,” the shade of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. It’s bold yet timeless, and the whole palette can mix and match across the collection, suiting both mother and daughter.
"It's been such an honor to be able to work with the incredible manufacturing capabilities of GAP, the techniques to their kind of standard of quality, and bring incredible artisanal expertise to great sportswear and style and trend pieces."
How important is it to design for people of all ages and sizes?
Inclusivity has always been part of my being. Not even a design ethos. I believe in the beauty of humanity. Obviously, not everything is for everybody; that's just life. So, you have to find what pieces work for you. I made the collection with a range of pieces, so there are great classic day pieces and even some classic evening pieces, and everyone can find something right for them.
And how long does it take to put together a collection like this?
Well, this collection we started last August. So, it takes time. It takes a while to find and create products and get them to market at this quality. And you want to be perfect and get all the kinks worked out. And then once you have that, it's ready to birth.
In addition to this collection, you also design exclusive pieces for celebrities. For example, you designed a dress for Cynthia Erivo for last year's CFDA Awards. How do you do all that?
I work really hard. I work with love, with care, and I work with amazing teams. You know, as I've grown as an entrepreneur, as a creator, as a curator, as a businessman, you have to learn how to trust, how to delegate, know where your hand and creativity and eye comes into a process.
What do you feel when you see someone wearing one of your designs on the street?
That's the proudest moment of my life. Are you kidding? That's the real red carpet.
