Foreign Affairs has been the leading forum for serious discussion of American foreign policy and global affairs The magazine has featured contributions from many leading international affairs experts POSEN is Ford International Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Barry R. Posen President Donald Trump began his effort to settle the war in Ukraine European leaders have tried to assemble a military coalition capable of defending Kyiv “There will be a reassurance force operating in Ukraine representing several countries,” said French President Emmanuel Macron in March British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for a “coalition of the willing” to help protect Kyiv This initiative may seem novel and bold, but it is old-think disguised as new-think. Europeans can call these forces whatever they want—peacekeepers, peace enforcers, a reassurance force, a deterrent force. But European leaders are simply repackaging NATO’s 1990s Balkan peacekeeping model for Ukraine Penny packets of military force would be spread around the country to send the Russians a deterring message Yet these forces would have limited combat power and their credibility would depend on the promise of U.S European leaders even admit that their forces must be “backstopped” by Washington which could provide massive air support in the event that the continent’s ground troops are attacked The scheme depends on Trump’s support and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s acquiescence. And both of them have already rejected their appointed roles. Trump is no more likely to commit the United States to wage war in Ukraine under any circumstances than was the Biden administration, which refused to do so. Moreover, the European plan would also have the effect, almost surely intended, of anchoring a wayward United States back into NATO Vice President JD Vance has repeatedly and categorically rejected acceptance of the European scheme would mean abandoning a key war goal—keeping Ukraine out of NATO and NATO out of Ukraine European leaders get high marks for diplomatic subtlety as they attempt to disguise this two-pronged effort to rescue victory from the jaws of defeat But it is very unlikely that either Putin or Trump will bite Even if Trump and Putin were to accept such a scheme The continent’s people face many potential threats from Russia so it is foolish for them to tie down their readiest forces in garrisons across Ukraine but the forces would be unavailable for anything else This kind of mission would lure European armies into rotating units through these positions in a way that doesn’t leave their soldiers far from home for long periods Every unit will either be getting ready to go to Ukraine This routine is not a formula for a combat-capable army So what should Europe do, not only to deter future Russian threats to Ukraine but also to improve its ability to deter Russian aggression in the continent’s east and southeast? The answer is simple—Europe must organize what military planners call a “mass of maneuver” that can quickly deploy where it is needed. Europe cannot know in advance whether a refreshed Russia would renew attacks on Ukraine its officials must consolidate meaningful combat power that can intervene quickly wherever and whenever needed That means they must stop distributing European military forces over the continent’s east and southeast simply as symbols of their commitment cavalry that may no longer ride to the rescue they must conceive of European military formations as scarce which can be deployed as a concentrated fist with the ability to fight independently Europeans have most of the military wherewithal needed to create such a force The question is whether they have the will European military leaders and pundits have spent the last few months talking about all the combat power that Europe does not have But they have failed to evaluate and consolidate the combat power that Europe does have the chair of the European Union Military Committee observed that Europe lacks the “strategic enablers that would render it capable of independently performing the full range of tasks associated with the missions and operations it launches”—such as airlift and aerial refueling; intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; satellites; and air and missile defense But Europe does have many of these systems just not as many as commanders would prefer Europeans may not have spent what the United States or NATO itself asked of them over the last decade but they have spent hundreds of billions of euros They have hundreds of thousands of people under arms and possess meaningful numbers of ground what they need to do is consolidate that combat power and either deploy it close to the possible areas of a Russian challenge or at least demonstrate that they can do so in short order and topography is both the eastern linchpin of European defense and the ideal base from which to counter Russian threats against the Baltic states and the continent’s southeast It is also the ideal place from which it can intervene in Ukraine the continent should fulfill the NATO Readiness Initiative This initiative called for NATO to develop the ability to deploy 30 battalions even when the United States almost surely would have been a key contributor It might thus be hard to see how Europe will succeed now But much of the problem then was that Europeans were simply not scared enough to do their part and that energy can be harnessed to fulfill the initiative and do even more The continent has the forces: European members of NATO collectively field nearly 100 fighter squadrons and over 100 brigades—of which it would need ten to meet Mattis’ 30-batallion objective Ground forces are the long pole in the tent They can provide powerful support to ground troops Some might argue that ten brigades is still not much force compared with the 90-odd regular and 80-odd irregular regiments in the Russian army (A Russian regiment is similar to a European brigade and often understrength because of combat attrition.) But properly organized would be a capability that a Russian campaign planner could not ignore this force would be similar in size to the force that NATO planners encouraged Ukraine to concentrate for one attack in their 2023 counteroffensive in Zaporizhzhia and instead launched two weak offensives.) It is several times the size of the force that Ukraine thrust into the Kursk region of Russia in 2024 And it is about two-thirds of the size of the force that conquered all of Iraq in 2003 the three key military players in western Europe—France and the United Kingdom—field some 22 combat brigades so they are well able to fill out the initial force on their own and Although not all these brigades are tank-heavy armored units they are all well-equipped by the standards of the Russian and Ukrainian troops that have fought one another to a bloody standstill in the last three years This ten-brigade force would reinforce the Polish army which according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies A reinforced Poland would then become a tough nut for Moscow to crack fielding roughly as many forces as Ukraine deployed to stop the Russian offensive in Ukraine in early 2022 Some of their equipment may need maintenance about which there is generally little public information And these forces would benefit from additional short-range air defense systems that can handle the kind of drone attacks that are common in the war in Ukraine rectifying these problems is straightforward: allocate more funds double and triple shift the continent’s defense factories and abandon the obsession with sharing defense spending and industrial work equally across borders European military planners have already done some of this If Poland is to be the fulcrum of a large-scale European crisis reinforcement effort then Europeans have to figure out how to get there Skeptics complain that Europe lacks the airlift capacity to rapidly move forces around Europe NATO planners and European Union officials know what needs to be done to get the continent’s infrastructure ready for such a task: strengthen bridges in eastern Europe complete the integration of eastern European railroads with the rail network in the west acquire diesel locomotives to pull trains if electrical power is interrupted by enemy action and improve port facilities for the shipment and unloading of military cargo Some of these preparations are already underway Several bridges in western Poland have been strengthened in recent years to accommodate heavy military loads the European Union has spent at least 15 years funding a major effort to upgrade Europe’s transportation infrastructure and has spent or committed over $38 billion to the effort should also be organized so it can support the movement of military goods to eastern Europe (During the Cold War the West German army had the right to requisition 90,000 individual pieces of civilian heavy equipment.) To further enhance the credibility of Europe’s commitment to reinforce its eastern and southeastern members reception and sustainment facilities can be improved across both areas This means strengthening and building fuel tanks skeletal bases with paved parking areas and bunkers and even railway sidings to permit rapid unloading of trains Civilian and military airfields in eastern and southern Europe would benefit from similar kinds of improvements These efforts can be managed by European civilian construction it is critical for European military planners to concentrate combat power The continent should be focused on being able to deploy to Poland one or two independent corps with accompanying air support—both of which must be able to operate without U.S (A corps is the principal command organization for large ground force operations coordinating the actions of five to ten brigades to achieve a common purpose.) The preparations that NATO has already made to reinforce Poland in a crisis can serve as the foundation for a repurposed The existing NATO Multinational Corps Northeast located in Poland and currently focused mainly on the Baltics and the Belarussian-Polish border could serve as the foundation of one corps The EU’s Eurocorps headquarters in the French city of Strasbourg could serve as the foundation of a second corps should start to master the challenge of managing large field operations without American help This corps should serve as the test bed for employing existing European command and control Individual European nations are also accustomed to keeping their national hands on them will need to think hard about how their nuclear forces can backstop the continent’s conventional forces in an independent European deterrence strategy then they need combat power that can match to the challenges posed by Russia’s military This means assembling a capable mass of maneuver that makes Moscow more cautious when it comes to the continent in every which way Peacekeeping with American help is old-think Independent combat capability is the necessary new-think in Europe Subscribe to Foreign Affairs to get unlimited access Already a subscriber? Sign In Jens Stoltenberg Ye Myo Hein and Lucas Myers Gideon Rose Lauren Kahn Garrett M. Graff Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay Tong Zhao Zongyuan Zoe Liu Anne Neuberger Liana Fix and Michael Kimmage * Note that when you provide your email address, the Foreign Affairs Privacy Policy and Terms of Use will apply to your newsletter subscription Published by The Council on Foreign Relations Privacy Policy Terms of Use From the publishers of Foreign Affairs This website uses cookies to improve your experience You can opt-out of certain cookies using the cookie management page * Note that when you provide your email address, the Foreign Affairs Privacy Policy and Terms of Use will apply to your newsletter subscription compared the tactics to Johnson and Nixon refusing to back down A leading US economist has likened Donald Trump’s tariff battle with China to the Vietnam war arguing that both sides will be caught in a quagmire and unable to find a face-saving exit the head of the Peterson Institute in Washington and a former Bank of England policymaker spoke to the Guardian after penning an article for the US magazine Foreign Affairs He said Trump’s tactics had “echoes of presidents Johnson and Nixon in the Vietnam war unable to believe that they wouldn’t win if they only upped the attacks Posen said Trump and the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, who defended high tariffs on China on Wednesday accusing them of boasting about the level of self-harm the US was willing to inflict on itself and how this would secure victory against China Many economists have accused White House advisers of misunderstanding the mechanics of international trade and how industries manufacture across borders but also to access skills and technologies unavailable in their home country Rollercoaster financial markets, which have struggled all week to put a price on the tariff war, were spooked on Friday after China increased its tariffs on US goods from 84% to 125% and the US returned fire, saying it would push the total to 145%. Read moreChina has become the main battleground after Trump agreed a 90-day moratorium on the punitive tariffs he aimed at most other countries a billionaire and former hedge fund manager had wrongly likened the dispute with Beijing to a game of poker in which the US held all the best cards Bessent said: “I think it was a big mistake because they’re playing with a pair of twos What do we lose by the Chinese raising tariffs on us We export one-fifth to them of what they export to us Posen said: “Bessent’s poker analogy is misleading because poker is a zero-sum game: I win only if you lose you get nothing back for what you put in the pot unless you win; in trade in the form of the goods and services you buy,” said Posen More fundamentally, he said, the Trump administration believes “the more you import, the less you have at stake, and that is because the US has a trade deficit with China, importing more Chinese goods and services than China does US goods and services; it is less vulnerable. “This is factually wrong, not a matter of opinion. Blocking trade reduces a nation’s real income and purchasing power; countries export in order to earn the money to buy things they do not have or are too expensive to make at home. Free daily newsletterGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning “What’s more, even if you focus solely on the bilateral trade balance, as the Trump administration does, it bodes poorly for the US in a trade war with China. In 2024, US exports of goods and services to China were $199.2bn and imports from China were $462.5bn, resulting in a trade deficit of $263.3bn. To the degree that the bilateral trade balance predicts which side will ‘win’ in a trade war, the advantage lies with the surplus economy, not the deficit one. “Depriving US households and companies of hard or impossible to replace imports hurts the US far more than China suffers from lost sales,” he added. The logic is based on game theory. Trump believes he has “escalation dominance” over China, which means the US has the ability to escalate a conflict without China inflicting pain in return. “But this logic is wrong: it is China that has escalation dominance in this trade war. The US gets vital goods from China that cannot be replaced any time soon or made at home at anything less than prohibitive cost. “Reducing such dependence on China may be a reason for action, but fighting the current war before doing so is a recipe for almost certain defeat, at enormous cost. Or to put it in Bessent’s terms: Washington, not Beijing, is betting all-in on a losing hand.” Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Lisa Abramowicz and Annmarie Hordern for the top interviews from Bloomberg Surveillance Television And join Tom Keene and Paul Sweeney for the best conversations from Bloomberg Surveillance Radio The economy and the markets are "under surveillance" as we cover the latest in finance Every product is independently selected by (obsessive) editors Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission and it turns out he’s still passionate about his Gingher Dressmaker’s Shears but I had a pair confiscated because you can’t travel with scissors Working with amazing craftspeople for over 25 years The weight of a scissor is really important It’s my Edward Scissorhands — Zac Scissorhands — moment I build really quickly in a sculpting process I guess some people can sing or play on a piano My draping assistant has probably curated ones There I can find very unusual plants that are native As I can get excited about having a large watercolor kit to play with it’s also really amazing to learn about localized plants for me and building a garden through that There’s these California poppies that grow quite large very delicate ivory petals with a yellow interior He’s really taking a great pride and joy and helping build it I like getting my hands in soil and the earth being connected that way It’s really one of those magical New York wonderful institutions It always reminds me of the kids’ candy shop in the original Gene Wilder Willy Wonka and they’re very serious about their candy I was raised by an amazing Norwegian babysitter and so extra-salty licorice was just the preferred flavor My grandfather on my mom’s side always kept in his pocket jelly beans and Good & Plenty And it just seems to work really well for me This LED mask is incredible. It’s soft. It’s comfortable. I know a lot of people have those hard LED masks but it’s really night and day with the soft also an amazing brand based out of San Francisco is my San Francisco facialist and she’s also the facialist for some other fabulous people there This is what I wear if I know I’m getting on a plane and getting onstage for a town hall the next day in San Francisco or vice versa I’ve upgraded from epsom salts I think these just have a higher penetration Living with and being engaged with my partner who was from the ballet originally — ex principal dancer at New York City Ballet Harrison Ball — you just learn all the tricks and the trades to body recovery which I’ll use one drop of a sandalwood with a base oil and one drop of maybe a patchouli Really with the amount of travel that I do — like last year I did a crazy amount, it was 42-plus flights across the country, plus international flights on top of that, plus skippers — taking care of my immune system is really important. NAC is an amazing supplement It’s more of a supplement that is great for cellular regeneration especially of lungs and just the general immune system Blackseed oil pills are an amazing anti-inflammatory — I believe it’s from the cumin seed GapStudio is working within an elevated vision of Gap essentials that is a little more fashion forward American-style dressing that works internationally Having great classics of great quality — which is something that we stand for within Gap — and in cool color palettes Everything from slip dresses to amazing denim sailor trousers to the perfect little summer white knit date night dress I was definitely thinking about music icons from Dylan to Elvis and the idea of heartthrob — from James Dean in denim or Sal Mineo or Brando — or the everyday icon It’s nice when you wear something that gives you that power and strength I was also thinking of our satin Timmy jacket It was just an honor to be able to create for Timothée Chalamet [Editor’s note: The GapStudio Satin Jacket was designed with a matching pair of pants that is currently unavailable.] By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York SaveSave this storySaveEditor’s Note: Since taking the creative reins at Gap Inc. Zac Posen and the company’s CEO Richard Dickson’s mantra has been “What if that philosophy has sprung to life with the in-store and online arrival of GapStudio a capsule collection for the fashion- and style-conscious consumers who’ve clocked the corseted denim gown Posen created for Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s first-ever Met Gala last year and the white cotton poplin shirt dress he custom-made for Anne Hathaway He talked to Irina Aleksander about taking on Gap and reinventing himself in the process Zac Posen and his design team are finishing a custom dress for an actress He has done this countless times before under his namesake line The difference today is that he is doing it via Zoom from a corner office at Gap Inc.’s corporate mother ship in San Francisco And there is some question about whether the gown made of Gap’s lightweight T-shirt material will provide the actress with enough support I don’t think,” Posen tells his team in New York “but she does like being controlled and smooth ships and helicopters glide across the turquoise expanse of San Francisco Bay “It’s like the craziest screensaver ever,” Posen says It’s trippy.” Since starting the job as the creative director of Gap Inc and chief creative officer of Old Navy a year ago When I saw him in New York the previous week dressed Cynthia Erivo in a hooded black velvet gown—inspired by the Gap hoodie—for the CFDA awards Monday night flight back the next morning to get in a full day at the office “I’m basically on the plane every other week,” he says “It’s like teleporting: I close my eyes and hope for Wi-Fi.” Posen, for his part, saw himself in Gap’s plight. “I love sleeping beauties,” he says, adding, “America loves heralding and shooting down. And I’ve definitely been a dove, a pigeon, a unicorn, and a dragon. So for me it’s like, What an opportunity!” Posen slips a pincushion onto his forearm. He takes the corner of a denim sheet, pins it onto a mannequin just below the ribs, and tells me how, two weeks after meeting with Dickson, he flew west to appear before the company’s board. Their questions were what one might expect: What happened to his company? After making his name in eveningwear, why did he want to make jeans and T-shirts? Did he understand the complexities of a $15 billion business? Among those whom Dickson called when considering Posen was Domenico De Sole, the chairman of Tom Ford International, who had underwritten, along with Ford, Posen’s second runway show in 2002. De Sole, who’d been a member of Gap’s board until 2017, thought Posen would be a great fit. “Zac is a very creative person,” De Sole told me, “but he’s also a thoughtful person. He understands marketing and business.” In his office, Posen has now pinned the denim fabric around the hips, folding each corner like origami. He takes white poplin, which at this moment looks no more interesting than a bedsheet, drapes it over one shoulder, and rips it straight across, leaving a heap of discarded fabric on the carpeted floor. “…experience,” Posen said, finishing his thought. “Of course.” Later, Posen tells me, “It’s not luxury, but it’s, you know, yummy.” “This is the hill that keeps my ass up,” Posen says as we turn onto a steep road leading to his home. At the door we are greeted by Posen’s fiancé, Harrison Ball, a former New York City Ballet dancer. “How do you do it?” Posen asks, about the task ahead of him, before answering his own question. “You go back to what you do best” As the pandemic hit the city, Ball fled to an island in the Bahamas where his father has a home. Posen holed up in Bridgehampton with the Schnabels, the family of his close childhood friend Lola. Ball and Posen began exchanging messages. But then the cell tower on the island was struck by lightning, wiping out the internet. Months went by without the two communicating. In the fall of 2020, with pandemic restrictions easing, Ball and Posen met for coffee back in New York. Ball had planned to visit for three days and ended up staying a month. During a day trip to Woodstock, Ball asked Posen what he was looking for. Posen said he wanted to have a family. Ball was 27 then. He had been dancing since the age of four and was experiencing freedom for the first time. He encouraged Posen to do the same—to go and live and date people. That same year, Ball was promoted to principal dancer. Posen came to every show. Ball was dancing the role of the Poet in La Sonnambula when he decided he wanted to retire. A sesamoid bone in his foot was crushed, and arthritis was tormenting his body. He and Posen began to spend more time with Posen’s family in rural Pennsylvania. “And then his mother got diagnosed with cancer, stage IV,” Ball says. When Posen returns from his walk, he seems nervous. “Everyone gets really scared when I talk, because I really talk,” Ball says. As we walk to dinner, Posen picks up the story. When Ball told Posen to go and live, he went to LA, where he stayed with Alice + Olivia founder Stacey Bendet Eisner and her husband, Eric, at the sprawling Malibu estate owned by Eric’s father, Michael Eisner. “I was like Maria von Trapp,” Posen says. He developed scripts for several TV networks, including one about a fashion designer, and thought about making a career pivot toward directing and producing. But then the new year came, his mother became ill, and he kept thinking about Ball. “It was time to go back to New York,” he says. “Listen, his parents are normal,” Ball adds. “He grew up going to Q-Mart in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.” Ball traces Posen’s more glamorous turn to his having attended Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn, and having a friend circle that included Schnabel and Claire Danes. “When you’re a teenager and you happen to find that door, you want to know what’s in that room,” Ball explains. The previous night, Ball had christened a new TV room by watching Posen on Project Runway for the first time. “People may look at that and think he sold out for TV,” Ball says, and turns to Posen. “But you were just trying to help your company survive.” In this story: hair, Edward Lampley; makeup, James Kaliardos; manicurist, Jin Soon Choi; tailor, Jacqui Bennett at Carol Ai Studio Tailors; produced by AL Studio; production coordination by Boom Productions inc; set design, Mary Howard. Special Thanks to Hook Studios and Hook Props POSEN — Firefighters at Posen Area Fire and Rescue recently received a new, top-of-the-line, waterproof drone for use in rescue missions. The drone is a DJI Matrice 30T Combo from Unmanned Vehicle Technologies (UVT), a company based out of Arkansas. The drone and accessories cost $17,300 total, paid for primarily through grants and donations. Terry Buczkowski, captain of the Posen area fire and rescue team, said that they received $5,000 from the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan, $2,500 from Presque Isle Electric and Gas, and another $5,000 from DTE Energy. On Saturday, Chris Proudlock, a salesperson from UVT, walked the fire and rescue team through the proper use and maintenance of the drone. The drone’s features include a high-resolution camera, a spotlight, thermal imaging, and software that allows the drone’s controller to pin objects/areas of interest to come back to and track moving objects. The controller has a microphone equipped that allows a person to talk through a speaker on the drone if they need to assure someone that help is on the way, for instance. There is also a text-to-speech option. The drone can be programmed to fly a certain route, or it can be controlled manually. “It’s probably one of the most popular public safety drones in the country,” Proudlock said. Proudlock listed some ways that the drone could be used, including overwatch for fires or missing people, accident reconstruction, mapping, or providing live feeds. Buczkowski discussed certain rescue missions in the past where the drone would have been useful. For instance, the drone could be used during Posen’s Potato Festival so fire and rescue personnel can monitor the events through the live feed. “With the drone up in the sky at all times, we can have actual information that we can respond to right away,” Proudlock said. As a volunteer department, if they get a call during business hours for a missing person, it can be difficult to get all the help they need to cover a large search area. The drone can simplify that process and seek out a person before volunteers reach the scene. Buczkowski and one other member of the department have earned their Part 107 license, which is needed to fly a drone commercially. Others in the department are working on receiving their licenses as well. They will have six pilots total. There are some restrictions on the drone’s flight. It cannot surpass an altitude of 400 feet, and certain areas, like the National Guard base in Alpena, are considered no-fly zones, Buczkowski said. They also cannot fly directly over moving people or cars, Proudlock said. However, for as powerful as the camera is on the drone, that regulation will not cause many issues. In a practice flight, Buczkowski flew the drone over 2,000 feet away from the Posen water tower. The image of the tower was crystal clear on the monitor despite the distance. The drone comes with four sets of two rechargeable batteries. Each set of batteries allows the drone to fly for 25 minutes. “You can stay up long enough to gather information,” Proudlock said. “As soon as you land this drone, you can hot swap the batteries, you don’t need to turn it off. You land it, take one off at a time, put the other back in, within 30 seconds.” This story has been updated to reflect that Terry Buczkowski is the captain of Posen Area Fire and Rescue. This information was incorrect in an earlier version of the story. Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com. Today's breaking news and more in your inbox Copyright © 2025 Alpena News Publishing Company | https://www.thealpenanews.com | 130 Park Place, Alpena, MI 49707 | 989-354-3111 ©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. POSEN — My Merch Guy in Posen has designed “I Survived the Michigan Ice Storm 2025” T-shirts, available for $20 plus tax. A portion of the cost will be donated toward recovery efforts after the severe ice storm that left thousands without power over the weekend. The T-shirts come in two designs: one with icy power lines, and another featuring a Yeti. “For the power line design, I wanted to make something as a reminder of what we all went through,” said Andy Smith, owner of My Merch Guy. “It was scary at times. We had to find strength at times. Fight tears and stress, and problem solve and find alternatives to how we lived a normal day. This week was historic and unprecedented. We went through so many emotions all week. Anger, worried, scared, lost, hopeless at times.” He added that although it has been a trying time, there are still reasons to be grateful. “But at the same time, when the sun was shining, it was beautiful outside,” he said. “The world looked like glass.” Courtesy Photo My Merch Guy in Posen has designed Michigan Ice Storm T-shirts, with proceeds toward recovery efforts. To order T-shirts, click on the link on the My Merch Guy Facebook page. Or visit mymerchguy.bigcartel.com. Smith said they started taking orders on Thursday, and they will be printing them next week. He added that local delivery is available. SaveSave this storySaveSince launching his first collection in 2021, Zac Posen has won multiple CFDA Awards, dressed an endless list of celebrities, and served as a judge on Project Runway. His creative pursuits include a published cookbook and designing uniforms for Delta agents. Thus, when news of Posen’s eponymous label closing broke in 2019, fans and industry insiders alike knew it was only a matter of time before his talent would reemerge. That time has come. Having been named the creative director of Gap Inc. and chief creative officer of Old Navy in February 2024, Posen now splits his time between New York City and San Francisco, where Gap is headquartered. A typical morning in the Bay Area includes a FaceTime to Posen’s fiancé, Harrison Ball, while the designer walks to work. “You have lipstick on?” Ball asks his husband-to-be the day Vogue spends with Posen. “It’s chapstick,” Posen responds with a laugh. After saying hello to his dogs, Posen ends the call and proceeds to pick up egg tarts from his neighborhood bakery (enough to share with colleagues, of course.) “This is where the magic happens,” Posen says upon entering the Gap offices. A 10 a.m. meeting is followed by visits to the Gap Creative office and Old Navy showroom. While reviewing Banana Republic designs, the idea strikes Posen to create carved, cameo-like wood buttons for a pair of pants—perhaps featuring animal silhouettes. “Collaboration is everything in life,” he says is his approach to work, “making decisions, owning them, and trust.” Before the day is over, Posen offers a glimpse of a Gap look Demi Moore is wearing to an event the two are heading to that night: a cropped coated denim moto jacket and a T-shirt tank gown. With Posen at the helm, there’re much more where that came from. Here, watch Day in the Life with Zac Posen. That blue pleated mini dress blew me away. Eva Thomas is the senior writer at InStyle, where she's the driving force behind all things fashion, beauty, and celebrity. 2025Save this storySaveSave this storySaveAll products featured on Vogue are independently selected by our editors we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links As any ’90s kid worth their patchwork Tammy jeans will tell you you were no one until you had a Gap logo jumper varsity-inspired lettering and everyman (and woman) appeal it offered a “part of the gang” allure to its wearers many of whom were tweens and teens desperate to become students of this all-American institution Gap has not had the easiest ride in the intervening years–three decades where the very foundations of the industry shifted irrevocably and brands were faced with a new frontier of online shopping and social-led marketing What’s a multinational fashion corporation to do Take a leaf out of the designer playbook, apparently. In 2023, the brand shook up its creative leadership team and hired red-carpet stalwart, Zac Posen, as creative director. Then followed a slew of high-profile A-list appearances, with everyone from Anne Hathaway to Timothée Chalamet not only repping the democratic brand but repping the democratic brand on the red carpet interest in second-hand Gap pieces from the ’90s and Noughties has surged amongst Y2K-obsessed Gen Z-ers further boosting the cultural buzz around the nostalgic brand Anne Hathaway wearing GapStudio’s shirt dress “Inside Gap’s New York HQ, we’ve built a creative studio where I’ve designed looks for the red carpet, and where we’ll continue to collaborate with visionary talent in the future,” says Posen, whose official title is Gap Inc executive vice president and creative director. “GapStudio Collection 01 reflects that vision—blending tailoring with innovative denim treatments that sculpt and refine the fabric in new ways. This is just the beginning.” That being said, Posen has taken significant steps to carrying Gap into a new era, and we have no doubt that this collection will assist him with his mission. We can’t wait to see what he comes up with for collection 02. Watch this space. Sign up Sign in Listen But that was New York. Here in San Francisco, we are most likely donning a Patagonia vest or vintage Levi’s jeans, paired with a perfectly oversized sweater. I can respect Posen for adapting to that aesthetic; He’s traded many signature suits for loose-fitting denim button-ups at Gap Inc. and Coco Rocha in looks befitting a Northern California fabric selection It’s more like a high-fashion nod to us, rather than something I’d typically see on the street. Photos from Zac Posen’s Instagram.Something about it all still isn’t landing for me But before his PR team scrawls an angry note in blood across my front door: I’ll add that Posen’s star power is much needed in our local high-fashion scene which to me feels it could cave in on itself pretty often “Revitalizing San Francisco is a huge opportunity for us,” he said I welcome a correction if in fact I missed a local designer in the night’s lineup Krystal Phillips and Bruce Proctor attend GAP x Harlem’s Fashion Row I’ll add something nice now before readers set their denim onesies ablaze and hurl them at me Photos of Gap x Harlem’s Fashion Row show on Feb 13 by Drew Altizer Photography.This show felt straight from Hollywood or New York — the likes of which SF seldom sees Alexis Pence and even a couple SF notables Someone told me the attendee fashion felt unimpressive but I personally resonated with a lot captured by Drew Altizer’s cameras: A high-crowned grey hat atop Lauren Harwell Godfrey lent a touch of avant-garde Thom Browne alongside complementing monochrome hues and an understated YSL handbag The snacks went untouched but the bubbles flowed freely and the guest list skewed toward people of color; a good thing and not always common for SF events The evening served as a kick-off for the NBA All-Star weekend that I blissfully missed many attendees neglected an opportunity to get custom stitch-work done onsite at Gap that night I’ll spare a long critique and instead offer a classic Michael Kors quote I recall from Project Runway: “This looks more like clothes to me.” Mixing past and present hits as the right move; I’m just not sure it is yet achieving fashion should logic link Posen to appreciate these world-class dancers; That felt evident in his designs for Within the Golden Hour the sophomore act of the night where one of my first notes was The night felt complete if only because of a personal nemesis in local media whose feud with me I cannot divine its starting point But whatever I did must drive their chiropractor bill up like crazy for the amount of times they spent averting their gaze on Thursday — such that they conveyed that I was a nonexistent plebe to them In some ways this behavior served as impetus for coloring my perspective on Posen today Both he and my inexplicable sworn enemy carry overlapping reputations of being rather unpleasant for no reason But I decided that absent no actual war with Posen I am happy he is lending some of his light to San Francisco so I hope you’ll try not to hate me today if you spot this writeup and find my honesty unfair To repeat earlier phrasing: that was the homework assignment How do I react to this with a literary nuance tailored to 2025 Zac, Karl the Fog called and wants you to fire whoever wrote that PR copy. Morning fog providing its typical blanket over San Francisco. Photo by David Yu. And I mean, I guess we do see the sun sometimes. Occasionally.Saul Sugarman is editor in chief of The Bold Italic. The Bold Italic is a non-profit media organization that’s brought to you by GrowSF, and we publish first-person perspectives about San Francisco and the Bay Area. Donate to us today. I'm the editor in chief of The Bold Italic. Help Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot Get the most important global markets news at your fingertips with a Bloomberg.com subscription his design influences and his favorite film fashion spotting girls on Upper Sproul in striped scarves and waffle-knits is acclaimed fashion designer and former Project Runway host Zac Posen Now executive vice president and creative director at Gap Inc. Posen somehow finds the time to wedge costume designing into his busy schedule As part of San Francisco Ballet’s “Cool Britannia” program earlier this month Posen designed new costumes for one of three one-act ballets: Christopher Wheeldon’s “Within the Golden Hour.” In a zoom call with The Daily Californian Any fastidious red-carpet follower will recall certain key works by Posen: Claire Danes’s glowing Cinderella-esque ball gown at the 2016 Met Gala Posen views costuming as a different beast entirely “Designing for the stage is like nothing else,” Posen said Not entirely dissimilar to Wheeldon’s choreography Posen has a forceful yet lilting manner of speaking content to answer a question radially — Posen purls and perfects each of his thoughts in full before looping back to chain on another When prompted on a subject he is particularly fond of Posen leans in with his hands out toward the camera “I was inspired by light and by skies of San Francisco and the bay and the colors and movement and when you capture these beautiful gorgeous colors that you can't even put a name on crimson or the fade of a Rose of Sharon — or these really beautiful faded ochres — something that feels western and seaside You have the ocean and the west and a rapidly changing color every morning and every night.” “I really wanted to highlight in this new interpretation for this piece really highlight the dancers … honor Chris’s (work) and not add bells or whistles or things that could be distracting,” Posen explained working with a kind of fabrication that moves with them that highlights their beautiful bodies and forms.” was more like designing Olympic uniforms than anything else The preservation of fluidity comes down to the fabric Posen said he “worked with this stretch mesh that has a chiffon-like quality to it I picked that because I know that it has a durability to it and a versatility and a wearability.” Set to the romantic scores of Antonio Vivaldi and Ezio Bosso Wheeldon’s contemporary piece is an exercise in beauty Posen designed a series of simple yet vibrant dresses and unitards draped in a lush gradient over each dancer’s body The only piece of ornamentation to the garments was a very Posen-esque curving seam line down the skirt perfectly placed to allow maximum mobility his main responsibility was highlighting the form and movement of the company Igniting what seemed like the bulk of the conversation The Daily Californian challenged Posen to design a fashion film syllabus for any young designer searching for inspiration “I’m a huge fan of Gilbert Adrian and all of his work in terms of American glamor and female empowerment,” he began referencing the 1930s era head designer at MGM “I think you have to start from watching ‘The Women,’ the original — an amazing costume piece — to ‘Auntie Mame,’ to ‘Singin’ in the Rain.’” “All the great costume work in (Federico) Fellini movies,” Posen said “The great work that Hubert Givenchy did in collaboration with Audrey Hepburn over many years.” “I mean obviously (costume designers) Edith Head Sandy Powell … Colleen Atwood,” Posen finished off they're builders … they’ve changed history.” Ann is like the method actress (of) costume design.” Roth was the designer for “Biloxi Blues,” “The English Patient,” “The Hours,“ “The Talented Mr Ripley,” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” All films for your Letterboxd lists and you have texture in a different way,” explained Posen because anything beyond the fourth seat (doesn’t) see the detail.” Yet, with the review now out for SF Ballet’s new production of “Within the Golden Hour” (taken from beyond the fourth row) much like a San Francisco sunset sinking softly over the Pacific Email notifications are only sent once a day We're an independent student-run newspaper and need your support to maintain our coverage Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: 04-01-2025DESIGN more elevated Gap brand is Zac Posen’s first big swing at bringing Gap back to its glory days BY Lilly Smith Gap has been popping up in an unexpected place for a heritage casual wear brand: the red carpet Anne Hathaway wore a white shirt dress with matching bralette and Bulgari jewelry Demi Moore appeared in a black knit jersey dress and moto jacket Timothée Chalamet showed up in a black satin workwear set Zac Posen, Gap Inc.’s executive vice president and creative director, had designed all of them under the new label, GapStudio Gap is bringing GapStudio to the masses as it officially launches the new GapStudio will launch four seasonal collections this year starting with this Spring capsule called GapStudioCollection 01 The brand may explore different cadences for drops in subsequent years The collection includes a range of elevated basics that play into classic styles Gap is known for but with contemporary and trend-driven silhouettes and elevated fabrications and construction and will be available online and in select stores starting this Thursday Posen’s role is far-reaching across Gap Inc but GapStudio seems to be the most direct expression of his crossover from the red carpet gowns of his former high-end designer label to Gap Inc’s accessible everyday denim Posen led the collection’s design processes creative directed its launch campaign with zeitgeisty photographers and onboarded a team he’s worked with for decades to bring it to life GapStudio is launching close to a year after Posen joined Gap Inc, where he oversees the creative direction of its brands, including Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta, and Old Navy for which he is also chief creative officer He and his team work out of the GapStudio atelier (that’s fashion for workshop) a new space in Gap Inc’s New York City headquarters that’s the epicenter of a new design vision for Gap net sales were down 3% in its last quarter compared to the previous year But the full 2024 fiscal year shows that online sales were up 4% and net sales were up 1% Posen’s first collection for GapStudio offers up a tangible sense of where he wants to take the brand The collection includes a mix of polished but contemporary everyday pieces and dresses (the Anne Hathaway will be available in a new color) a denim moto and a trench coat with a pleated back “You have to have that range within a very tight collection to be able to do that,” says Posen of the mix between casual and elevated styles He notes that the slip dress could be worn with shoes or heels Posen applied a studied eye to the construction of the pieces He showed me the collection in the Gap Inc showroom in NYC’s Tribeca neighborhood I noted the curved seaming of the knit dress worn by Demi Moore Those were Posen’s “construction lines,” he said The seams themselves were made to have more dimension than a typical needle stitch As he made his way through the collection racks he pointed out more details: the $148 knit day dress the sit of the shoulder and pick stitch of the khaki blazer Posen pulls out a white denim corset cincher but it appears in a few different looks throughout the campaign The collection also has sweatshirts for when you’re not in the mood to be so cinched which has seaming he originally designed for a slip dress featured in a ballet his husband choreographed That sentiment covers the range of the collection pretty well and really young,” Posen says referring to the sweatshirt look There’s an explicit play for Gen Z with GapStudio “It’s been really fun to be building a collection with that in mind in addition to leaning into nascent Gen Z trends like bloomers He tapped fashion photographer Mario Sorrenti He described the process of building the images as “elevating the iconic.” He hopes to tap into contemporary equivalents of the brand’s past partnerships with renowned photographers like Annie Leibowitz and Steven Miesel Posen wants GapStudio to communicate a sense of “elevated essentials,” he says “Great items that become staples in a wardrobe Things that have style and trends without being disposable.” To do that he aims to balance Gap’s metrics-driven approach with his own taste “Experimentation at any level is essential,” he says And it does appear that he is deeply involved with the GapStudio design team As we walked to the atelier down the hall from the showroom he introduced me to team members he’d worked with for 10 As we talked and made our way through the atelier he was distracted by the work of a designer who was draping and pinning a work-in-progress garment on a figure “I keep thinking about lowering the back on it,” Posen said to the designer “You have to do a body suit—that’s what I said at like midnight last night—but then we can go lower in the back and lower on the side.” He’s comfortably in his element “That’s a special project,” he told me as we moved to the next station Posen plans to invite other guest designers, a strategy that has worked well for bridge and mass market brands like Uniqlo and H&M He sees the coalescence of longstanding relationships and skillsets into GapStudio as “a starting point for innovation”; a new chapter with old collaborators absolutely elevation,” Posen says of GapStudio The final deadline for Fast Company’s Brands That Matter Awards is Friday, May 30, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today. Lilly Smith is an associate editor of Co.Design. She was previously the editor of Design Observer, and a contributing writer to AIGA Eye on Design. More Fast Company & Inc © 2025 Mansueto Ventures Fastcompany.com adheres to NewsGuard’s nine standards of credibility and transparency. Learn More who was appointed February 2024 and is already redefining the brand for a new generation while staying true to its roots Photography: Getty ImagesTagsgap Zac Posen fashionindustry fashionRelated ArticlesFashionHow Zac Posen Defined The 2000s With the rise of Y2K trends coming back it's time we revisit the influence Zac Posen had on the era L'OFFICIEL looks back at some of his most ravishing designs See every red carpet look from fashion's biggest night See who showed some skin at the 2025 Met Gala like Sabrina Carpenter and Emma Chamberlain The actor made a bold chop for the 2025 Met Gala carpet Take a look at the best dressed celebrities from the 2025 Met Gala The Blackpink star and Chanel muse turned heads with a jumpsuit that some are calling her most stunning Met Gala look yet The rapper has quickly become a fashion favorite—and at the 2025 Met Gala she cemented her status as the night’s breakout style star The Formula 1 driver took his talents from the race track to the red carpet to co-chair tonight's event The line’s debut collection is holiday themed with future launches planned for the spring a new line with elevated styles designed by Zac Posen and his New York City-based team both online and in the brand’s Shinjuku flagship stores Prices in the collection range from $128 to $248 The collection includes a denim midi dress The holiday collection features a media campaign of celebrities wearing the collection GapStudio will expand in Gap stores and online in Spring 2025 Posen was named Gap Inc. creative director and executive vice president in February he was tasked with reinvigorating the brand to greater cultural relevance Posen’s career background includes red-carpet couture Since stepping into the role at Gap, he has outfitted celebrities in the brand, including Anne Hathaway and “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo. His work on such dresses has been popular with consumers as well. A shirtdress inspired by the one Posen designed for Hathaway sold out within the day it was released to the public In addition to Posen, Gap is also under new management at the executive level, with CEO Richard Dickson taking the helm last year. Most recently, the company, which also owns Banana Republic, Old Navy and Athleta, reported Q3 net sales of $3.8 billion Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts embraced by department stores in the 1920s skews key metrics and fosters bad decisions The intense pressure to end diversity initiatives has led companies to scrutinize their policies The free newsletter covering the top industry headlines The designer shares his fashion inspiration and why he's the Willy Wonka of Gap Inc Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission feels very of-the-moment and sentimental at the same time capturing the push and pull between old and new already present in the way we dress today obviously I have an amazing relationship with her mom — when she went through the collection this is everything that I just want to wear This is how we want to dress,’” Posen said of the 20-year-old model “I think it’s interesting owning your heritage and then connecting it to the contemporary cultural Zeitgeist.” Posen discusses channeling the ’90s through clothing and what it was like to grow up in New York City I’ve been wearing my Old Navy cropped ringer tee all week My little cargo pants and cargo jeans and polar fleece are literally rocking my world I’m really just impressed and blown away by my team and this is a collection that I kind of inherited the creative idea of nostalgia What blew me away in the process was their finishings What felt right about right now to revitalize this aesthetic of 1994 Many people my age — who were 14 and 15 in 1994 — now have this feeling of looking back to these cultural pillar moments: the skater trends the independent films; they were all so powerful at that moment so I think there’s something deeper happening right now I love that you mentioned that you were in your teens in the ’90s Was there any sense of personal nostalgia for you throughout the process of bringing this collection to life there were these images and inspirations from Claire Danes and Uma and Chloë Naomi and the great Meisel ads with the bucket hat — and these are my girlfriends I have a clear memory of walking down lower Broadway like looking for Liquid Sky and being on my Sony red kids’ cassette player That led me to ask: What is this collection missing It’s missing these kinds of hues that had a little bit of a throwback kind of mid-’70s quality that got reinterpreted in the ’90s which probably also came from vintage shopping in the ’90s These subcultures had a place at the table for the first time Do you remember what you were like in 1994 I was really a kid growing up in New York City I was at a summer camp for a musical theater I’d be wearing an Old Navy or Gap pocket tee at the time I was also wearing vintage high-waisted sailor trousers And then I wore these pretty outrageous John Fluevog lime-green crazy platform shoes I would take the train in and try to time it to catch Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow walking down Mercer Street I went to school with kids who were the muses of culture of this time: Harmony Korine That was my first kind of introduction to fashion I was transitioning into the idea of making clothing you have John Galliano turning up the heat in fashion; you have Karl Lagerfeld making his most beautiful collections getting really elegant and romantic in reaction to Galliano; you have McQueen hot and angry and bothered and furious and ferocious coming on and bringing this in-your-face messaging and questioning ideals of beauty that were happening I made my first real fashion piece that I wore and I remember buying the fabric with my mom in rural Pennsylvania black-and-white coat that I tramped around in in New York and on the subway It was the moment where I understood the power of fashion because it became a conversation piece of self-expression on my subway car that I began to get attention because of this coat I was wearing eyeliner and eye shadow at the time It was a form of interaction with New York City as a community I understand why these kids and teenagers and this new audience are so enthralled and excited about all these incredible carpenter jeans Do you have a memento that you keep from the past I have all my school and camp T-shirts that are just personal I think it’s also a nice thing to let it go I definitely have little remnants of my party frocks I was making for my girlfriends in ’94 and ’95 Print and publications were at a level of excellence and such a high degree in terms of storytelling and costume designers in Hollywood were really valued I hear it from the kids that there is an understanding and appreciation right now in culture for that time This collection we’ve been talking about gives us the option to try time travel a little bit I would really be interested to go very Proustian and see Paris specifically I probably would have loved the mid-to-late ’70s as a young adult Those are my people who work with me pretty well You can ask Pat Cleveland and that whole generation; it’s simpatico By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. There was an error processing the request. Please try again later. Listen to this week’s conversation to learn more about what Posen’s learned in the industry so far and his vision for the future. “Coming soon. Gap x Cult Gaia” flashed across my Instagram feed on Monday morning an American clothing company that also owns brands Athleta is typically known as a store where both male and female consumers can buy mid-priced basics The same goes for its popular children’s brand Gap has been a staple in the industry for decades, but it has never been a particularly trendy brand. It was a brand for basics, generally non-imaginative clothing that your mom would approve of. In the past 20 years and the company drastically cut back its retail presence in North America by almost half Gap has made major strides in the fashion industry View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gap (@gap) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gap (@gap) the collaboration featured pieces with Madhappy-inspired designs The collection ranged in price from $34.95 to $158 — Madhappy sweatshirts typically cost upwards of $160 If its successful summer wasn’t enough, Gap launched its fall 2024 “Get Loose” campaign, which features “denim with a collection of loose styles that allow for self-expression,” according to Mark Breitbard The face of the campaign? International sensation Troye Sivan, whose hit 2023 album “Something to Give Each Other” catapulted the Australian singer-songwriter to both critical and Internet acclaim. Sivan’s music videos, particularly for his single “Rush,” feature him dancing with standout choreography – the “Rush” music video got a Grammy nomination for Best Music Video at the 66th Grammy Awards. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gap (@gap) However, this isn’t the first time Gap used celebrity stardom for visually compelling campaigns. In February 2024, Gap released their spring 2024 campaign focused on their linen products, called “Linen Moves.” The campaign featured Grammy-winner and breakout star Tyla dancing to “Back on 74″ by Jungle With Sivan’s feature in the fall “Get Loose” campaign and Tyla’s in spring’s “Linen Moves,” Gap clearly has its finger on the pulse of pop culture consumer wants and trending brands for collaboration Its strategic marketing and collaborations mark a huge evolution for the once creatively-stagnant brand Who is the mastermind behind the genius rebrand Posen’s designs caught the attention of ‘90s supermodel Naomi Campbell when he was just a college student at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. The New York Times titled an article about Posen “A Star is Born” in 2001 when he was 20 years old and beginning his career The Times was correct — Zac Posen’s gowns were a fixture of the red carpet for over a decade. He has dressed nearly every A-list, American female celebrity imaginable for major red carpet events. He was a judge on the popular series “Project Runway” for five seasons, and was the creative director for Brooks Brothers from 2014 to 2020 However, Posen’s career hit a rut when House of Z, his fashion company, was shut down by investment firm Yucaipa Companies in 2019 who had been trying to sell their stake in the label months before pulling the plug the once-legendary department store that stocked Posen’s gowns was also sold and ceased operation shortly after was also sold — gowns under the Zac Posen label at Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s have nothing to do with his actual designs freelancing and taking commissions with various individuals and companies Gap announced Posen’s appointment as executive vice president and creative director of Gap and chief creative officer of Old Navy in February 2024. The appointment was made under the leadership of Gap’s newly-appointed CEO, Richard Dickson former president and chief operating officer of Mattel This move effectively brought Posen back onto the fashion map. However, it was a big risk — Posen had never been at the helm of a major company before, and the casual Gap was a far cry from the glitzy red carpets and ball gowns that Posen is known for. As the New York Times put it Posen has still managed to bring Gap to the red carpet His red carpet debut with Gap came when he designed a custom denim Gap gown for Da’Vine Joy Randolph at the 2024 Met Gala marking the first time that a celebrity had worn Gap on the Met Gala red carpet Right after the hit Gap x DÔEN collection was released, Anne Hathaway wore a Posen-designed, $158 Gap shirtdress at a Bvlgari event in May. Posen designed the dress specifically for Hathaway, and made it available to purchase online. It sold out almost instantaneously. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zac Posen (@zacposen) Posen’s willingness to mix high-low fashion in not only his own designs mirrors his own journey in the fashion industry and has resonated with female consumers in particular Posen’s days of being a fashion prodigy are over — it’s his responsibility to revitalize the brand For the holiday season, Gap will release their new collaboration with Cult Gaia unique silhouettes and artistic approach to clothing The collection will include 35 pieces for women and children but will be significantly more expensive than previous Gap collaborations The collaboration, which has already hit fashion TikTok will likely be another smashing success for Posen’s Gap revival even despite the significant price increase Gap’s — and Posen’s — metamorphosis has just begun “This is really the beginning and I feel so premature with all of this, but we are in the cultural conversation and the brand is being spoken about,” Posen told CNN. Only time will tell what more Posen has in mind for the company. Facebook pageTwitter feed RSS feeduscannenbergmedia.com © 2025 USC Annenberg Media View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gap (@gap) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gap (@gap) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gap (@gap) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zac Posen (@zacposen) Posen’s inaugural release marks the beginning of Gap’s next era Gap is kicking off the New Year with the debut of GapStudio Gap Inc.’s Executive Vice President and Creative Director The collection features effortlessly stylish pieces designed by Posen that offer uncomplicated yet chic options that everyone can easily grab and go The new items are in stores and online at gap.com This GapStudio holiday drop is an ode to versatility and day-to-night dressing It combines Gap’s notorious and timeless staple essentials and improves them with a well-tailored flair and Posen’s fashion-forward sensibilities The holiday collection has already caught the eye and approvals of fashion VIPs and Demi Moore who have all been spotted rocking these effortlessly cool looks which has been a household name since 1969 initially started with a commitment to the blue jean but has evolved to meet the needs of a variety of customers is notorious for brands that scream Americana Posen has dressed Wicked starlet Cynthia Erivo who wore Custom Gap gown for the 2024 Met Gala. With an impressive resume that includes directing and designing collections for Saks Fifth Avenue and even creating uniforms for Delta Air Lines Zac Posen is poised to infuse new energy into Gap’s legacy seamlessly blending luxury with the brand’s signature American cool expect GapStudio to expand both online and in stores bringing these elevated staples to a wider audience of fashion enthusiasts everywhere We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings we will not be able to save your preferences This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences Photography by Mario Sorrenti, courtesy of GapStudio.Tagsgap campaign Zac Posen Alex ConsaniRelated ArticlesFashionHow Zac Posen Is Ushering in a New Era for GapGap is cool again Celebrities made sure that in order get the best view of the Met Gala red carpet The Fenty Beauty founder may have been the late one on the red carpet The model stepped onto the Met Gala red carpet in a sharply tailored two-piece by designer Torishéju Dumi blending Harlem Renaissance glamour with West African tradition GapStudio arrives online and in-stores April 3 The 53-piece collection ranges from denim trench coats and wide-leg jeans to an ultra-high-rise khaki skirt creativity and culture come together,\" Zac Posen said in a statement Zac Posen's vision for GapStudio first rolled out on the red carpet GapStudio launches with a campaign featuring Alex Consani and flared jeans I knew from my childhood mall had grown bigger fashion ambitions since Posen joined in February 2024 But those goals weren't exactly clear beyond the occasional bespoke look for an A-list client—until now intends to "sculpt and refine" the brand's stable of down-to-earth American classics: like denim While the draping and tailoring are upscale GapStudio will be shoppable on April 3 in select stores and online , accompanied by a Mario Sorrenti-lensed campaign featuring supermodels of the moment Imaan Hammam, Anok Yai, and Alex Consani described the collection in a press release as taking Gap's 55-year legacy "to the next level." Glimpses at the spring collection through campaign images released today match the "your staples but better" energy of Posen's red carpet pieces Hammam and Yai wear distressed leather jackets with wide belts one pair to a slip dress and the other to a bubble skirt the models try on denim sailor pants (and mini skirts) for size Some bespoke items Zac Posen has created for A-list clients will also be available en masse through GapStudio. Anne Hathaway's $158 shirtdress creativity and culture come together," Zac Posen said in a statement Zac Posen teased GapStudio's impending arrival in places beyond Hollywood's biggest red carpets. The creative director also sat with Vogue for an extensive interview in January offering a first look at the collection and insight into his strategy "why can’t Gap have a T-shirt gown on the red carpet Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends While GapStudio is headed for shoppers' closets this Thursday the brand still plans to test its next designs on megawatt clients we’ve built a creative studio where I’ve designed looks for the red carpet and where we’ll continue to collaborate with visionary talent in the future," Posen hinted in the official press release He's definitely giving me and other fashion editors even more to Slack about GapStudio Collection 01 arrives online at Gap.com and in select stores on Thursday This story has been updated to reflect the correct number of pieces in the initial GapStudio collection Previously, Halie reported at Glamour, Morning Brew, and Harper’s Bazaar She has been cited as a fashion and beauty expert in The Cut she earned the Hearst Spotlight Award for excellence and innovation in fashion journalism She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Harvard College 09-13-2024DESIGN Inside the plan to bring back Old Navy’s glory days BY Elizabeth Segran The last time the clothing brand felt truly relevant was back in the 1990s when high schoolers flocked to buy baby tees Old Navy has become the place where soccer moms shop for the whole family inoffensive basics that appeal to a broad swath of America And while the clothes aren’t particularly exciting Last year, it generated $8.2 billion in revenue making it the biggest brand within the Gap But Old Navy’s sales have been on the decline over the past five years as foot traffic to stores has gone down and fast-fashion competitors from Zara to Shein have stolen market share Gap, Inc. executives have been scrambling to turn things around. Last August, the board appointed Richard Dickson One of his first decisions was to bring on a new chief creative officer for Old Navy He surprised the world by tapping Zac Posen who is known for the ball gowns he designs for celebrities Before Posen’s own brand shuttered in 2019 dabbling in such projects as designing Delta uniforms and David’s Bridal collections Dickson is entrusting the designer with the enormous task of making Old Navy new again he unveiled a limited edition drop that reissues nearly 200 styles from the ’90s all in the loud primary colors that were in style decades ago They’re available to shop in store and online today Zac Posen never expected to work for Old Navy he’d been interviewing for positions at French luxury houses which aligned better with his decades-long career designing red carpet looks But when he sat down with Richard Dickson to discuss the role he was drawn to Old Navy’s long cultural footprint which makes it a heritage brand in the American retail landscape “It’s a beloved American brand with real depth,” he says Posen asked his creative team to go back into the archives where Old Navy pieces from the ’90s are trending thanks to Gen Zers who gravitate toward the wide leg styles of the time Posen was impressed by how stylish these early garments were which tapped into the fashion sensibilities of young people Posen wants to move away from blandness and have a point of view This ’90s throwback is one example of that ”We’re not trend chasers but because of our scale we can play a role in being trend leaders,” he says which uses inexpensive materials to make clothes as cheaply as possible But these vintage Old Navy clothes felt luxurious “The weight of the T-shirts felt like T-shirts from The Row,” Posen says “The jeans were heavy but had the softness and wash of Loro Piana It was so clear that the make of the materials and washes in the apparel industry have evolved.” Posen had the idea of reissuing some of these early pieces and he wanted to replicate not only their aesthetic were heavier because they were made of higher-gauge cotton; today’s T-shirts might be made of thinner cotton sometimes blended with low-cost synthetic fibers like polyester Old Navy’s GM of global men’s merchandising leveraged its long-term relationships with its suppliers around the world “We sent these vintage pieces to mills and asked them to replicate them,” Palmer says “Many of these materials aren’t commonly produced anymore Posen is very clear-eyed about the challenges ahead for Old Navy The brand must constantly reinvent itself to stay relevant but it also cannot alienate its core customer because it must continue to be the financial engine for its parent company and Old Navy accounted for $8.2 billion of that while also creating new history and reasserting yourself in culture,” Posen says “But it’s not enough to be relevant; you need to be drawing in revenue Palmer believes that one path to success is winning consumers away from fast fashion Old Navy is known for its affordable prices which can allow it to compete with players like Zara and H&M (though probably not with Shein and Temu which have driven prices and quality to new lows) And while fast fashion creates trendy pieces that can only be worn a handful of times before going out of style Old Navy wants to create stylish pieces that can be worn for years “One of the hallmarks of fast fashion is that you wear it once or twice We want to create super-versatile clothing you can wear for lots of occasions and that will hold up for a long time.” It’s a tall order to win over a new generation of consumers while retaining existing customers But Posen is optimistic that this is possible he believes that his role at Old Navy goes beyond creating stylish garments It’s about shaping consumers’ perception about what Old Navy stands for in culture “Our purpose is something quite unpretentious which is to invite everyone to play with style,” Posen says Sign up Sign in Listen Zac Posen and Demi Moore attend the SFFILM Awards Night All photos by Courtney Muro for The Bold Italic.It’s not every day we see Demi Moore and Denis Villeneuve in San Francisco — because we’re the city where fog never ends We’re more likely to rub elbows with engineers in Allbirds than to ever encounter a member of Hollywood royalty But rub elbows we did, sort of. SFFILM is a great place to find an indie flick and also the ultimate one to clout chase in The Bay Their red carpet on Monday served up many orchestrated meet-cutes for The Bold Italic Demi Moore was too good for us while holding onto her tiny dog Zac Posen and Denis Villeneuve all had choice things to say about San Francisco our fashion choices and our place in the national film industry The Gateway Pavilion at Pier 2 — Fort Mason Center made for a beautiful setting and they packed it tighter than a Muni train during rush hour — with the city’s film cognoscenti spread across two levels of industrial-chic architecture that screamed “converted tech office.” fresh off his Dune: Part Two press tour and sporting a perfectly tailored black suit took a surprisingly grounded approach to the evening “Make it about the work as much as you possibly can,” he advised adding thoughtfully: “Surround yourself with the people who will support you.” It was also a night of firsts for The Bold Italic We’ve never worked a Hollywood red carpet and found it pretty entertaining; Journalists feel valued about as much as cater waiters and managers closely watch their clients to make sure they don’t trip on a hem or say the wrong thing But make no mistake: This was a fun experience despite some sarcastic moments Our favorite conversation came from Villeneuve who said we can’t appreciate film if it’s via streaming apps on our phones “Cinema is an art form that needs to be received collectively on the big screen,” he said Coming from the man who just made us all watch giant sandworms in IMAX Zac Posen — dressed impeccably as one would expect from fashion royalty — offered a refreshingly earnest take on our city but his expression didn’t quite sell it as the truth but we’re generally hosting dance parties in Dolores Park where even the most star-studded events can’t escape our particular brand of tech-meets-fog The Bold Italic is a non-profit media organization that’s brought to you by GrowSF, and we publish first-person perspectives about San Francisco and the Bay Area. Donate to us today All photos by Courtney Muro for The Bold Italic We’re the The Bold Italic, an online magazine celebrating the spirit of San Francisco. Brought to you by GrowSF. Help A community celebrating Black voices Beautycon is a global platform that brings together beauty enthusiasts and industry leaders to explore the latest trends and conversations shaping the future of beauty This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The Business of FashionAgenda-setting intelligence analysis and advice for the global fashion community access one complimentary BoF Professional article of your choice Receive news, offers and invites from BoFOur newsletters may include 3rd-party advertising, by subscribing you agree to the Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy Subscribe to the BoF Podcast here Zac Posen burst onto the fashion scene in the early 2000s, gaining acclaim for his glamorous designs and dressing Hollywood’s elite. After nearly two decades, Posen closed his label in 2019, finding himself at a crossroads that eventually led to a meeting with Richard Dickson, the new CEO of Gap Inc. and the chance to join the company as creative director he’s on a mission to bring cultural relevance and excitement back to brands like Gap I knew that there was something very special It was a cosmic moment where there was like a magic connection where I saw that I had met my dreamer,” Posen says BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed sits down with Posen to explore his journey of redefining success CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Business of Fashion he shapes BoF’s overall editorial strategy and is the host of The BoF Podcast For more information read our Terms & Conditions The comfort sneaker brand’s $63-per-share acquisition by the Brazilian private equity firm 3G shocked both the fashion and financial worlds A gloomy economy probably won’t spoil the Costume Institute’s big party but the ones who do it right foster genuine customer loyalty and extraordinarily high levels of engagement The shiny new storefront on Amazon Luxury did not distract investors this week from Saks Global’s deteriorating liquidity problem The essential daily round-up of fashion news Receive news, offers and invites from BoFOur newsletters may include 3rd-party advertising, by subscribing you agree to the Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy. 'Smithsonian to spread Korean culture, art to people worldwide' Korea.net hosts networking event for Honorary Reporters Accord with Japan to protect both nations' people abroad A bilateral agreement with Japan will bolster cooperation in protecting the nationals of both nations abroad. Click here A bilateral agreement with Japan will bolster cooperation in protecting the nationals of both nations abroad. Click here to read more about the latest summit between leaders of both countries Talks with NZ seek to upgrade ties to strategic partnership Korea and New Zealand have agreed to advance talks on elevating the bilateral Partnership for the 21st Century concluded Korea and New Zealand have agreed to advance talks on elevating the bilateral Partnership for the 21st Century concluded in 2006 to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Mixed boccia pair to face Hong Kong for Paralympic gold In Paris Summer Paralympics, the Jeong-Kang pair will face in the final Hong Kong in mixed pair BC3 boccia. Find more ab K-UNESCO Adventure 2024ㅣ Ep3. Baekje Historic Areas 🌕 S-Tier food for Chuseok 🌕 | K-Cuisine Relay | Ep.28 Galbijjim & Samsaeknamul Had too much of Seoul? This time it’s BUSAN! | HOME SWEET HOME | Ep.29 Hadan-dong “Reading is so sexy!” — Headlined by The Guardian (UK)　| Balance Talk | Ep. 28 GenZ Trend: Text Hip Korean German architect in Seoul seeks to innovate Hanok Grassroots group seeks to clean up trash from Jeju waters Polish capital hosts Korean cultural event at Breakfast Market Hanbok-clad children play traditional games President Yoon attends opening of Cyber Summit Korea Descendants of Korean War veterans attend event in Incheon Multicultural families attend Chuseok event Address by President Yoon Suk Yeol on the 79th Liberation Day Keynote Address by President Yoon Suk Yeol at the NATO Public Forum Affiliated professor, Graduate School of Dongguk University K-pop management innovation changes global music industry Korea-French friendship to drive future partnership Denmark's digital strategy to preserve global democracy 10th workshop of European Association for Korean Language Education (EAKLE) KCC, PNP launches TOP COP special class to enhance tourist safety K-Culture Extravaganza Lights Up Jozi: Korean Cultural Centre Unveils ‘Travelling Korea’ Korean Restaurant to open soon in Abuja-Envoy Sumi Hwang, Jusung Gabriel Park & Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra Changgeuk Concert: Mr. Rabbit’s Journey to the Underwater Palace Production Design: Scene Architects Build On-Screen Worlds On my daily walks, I'm really usually thinking about all of my tasks for the day, things I wanna accomplish, When I'm walking to work, I'm always astound- [Zac] No. Just kept putting on like Chapstick. I'm gonna be home soon, but I love you. Look who she is, in her Winter Wonderland. So you know, here's how we kind of look This is some of the imagery, kind of, of part We did Home for the Holidays for San Francisco. You know, Banana Republic's about the modern explorer. And so we thought, What about exploring our own home city? and both styled by Tawny Goodman, all in the family, And then here how we start to work on kind of development My Dream Imaginarium, Banana Republic, Instagram Matrix. And then a lot of work around Old Navy here on this wall. of everything from different color blue codes within a brand and just the architecture of how it works. It's like a couture gown is very similar, to designing a brand, it has to move through space, it has to fit perfectly and it has to serve its function We're just here to kind of review some collateral You know, Calvin works meticulously on the brand, on marketing and everything across Gap brand. Hold on, let's go. Oh, uh-uh can't go over there. So we're here. Really exciting, little sneak peek. [Zac] Oh that is so beautiful. So it's so cool. So we're gonna go over some men's stuff. This is Noah. I actually get to work with him, you know? I mean, wouldn't you want have that on the print here too? Nikki and I have a lot of fun in these quick moments. like carved wood buttons? That could, ooh. Like that's just like almost so it gets like a cameo? 'Cause that feels cooler than the crystallization. There's something yummy about those kind of earthenware. Like that would be a beautiful Macintosh raincoat in I love this. I'm obsessed. Isn't that gorgeous? It's amazing. And it's a new dye like the one inchers because they can't find those. And then some of the prints are coming in. could be nice with corduroy to do it as a button If there's something like luxury about that. about Banana Republic Men's is that we really work with some of the finest fabrics available. It's really the first piece that I've designed within the Gap line besides like the Anne Hathaway dress when she was last on the cover of American Vogue. I was on a terrace with a New York City background of those kismic moments, like we connected. and she's been an incredible support and inspiration and a very great friend now for many, many years. And then it has this great kind of T-shirt tank gown Something that's like really comfortable, really cool, ShareSaveBusiness RetailGap Rolls Out Red Carpet For GapStudio As It Backs Zac Posen VisionByMark Faithfull Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights Mark Faithfull is London-based and covers retail and real estate Follow AuthorDec 18 02:13pm ESTShareSaveTrends in the right places: Demi Moore arriving at the San Francisco Film Festival wearing .. (Photo by Michael Simon/Getty Images for The Loft Entertainment ) swapped out the blue and beige for the red carpet this week as its Executive Vice President and Creative Director Zac Posen unveiled GapStudio a new line of what it describes as elevated staples The first drop came in time for the holidays and features two moto jackets and two dresses and the Coated Denim Cropped Moto Jacket ($228) has already been spotted on A-listers Emily Ratajkowski and Demi Moore the collection showcases the brand’s evolution inspired by Gap’s essentials and with the pieces designed for transitions from day to night Gap had previously released Anne Hathaway’s Zac Posen-designed poplin shirtdress and in doing so the apparel brand is stepping into a new era But this new venture is much more than a niche capsule, it’s a full-bloodied backing for a man brought in to give Gap creative direction after a decade of clothing so anonymous it let your personality shine out The official tack is that its set to bring an elevated twist to Gap’s traditional offerings with Posen and his New York-based design team at the helm Scheduled to expand in both physical stores and online in spring 2025 the purpose of GapStudio is to hold true to the brand’s everyday wear motif And getting a few celebrities on board can hardly have hurt But GapStudio represents a significant shift for Gap Inc. indicating a move towards a more fashion-forward approach while remaining true to the brand’s roots of accessibility and classic American style It also represents a considerable show of faith in Posen who joined Feb Posen became the first person to oversee design across Gap Inc.’s four brands: Gap where he also took on the additional role of chief creative officer Emily Ratajkowski in the GapStudio Coated Denim Cropped Moto Jacket designed by Zac Posen while out .. “Gap Inc and its brands have shaped American fashion and pop culture for decades and there’s so much potential at Old Navy,” Posen who will relocate to San Francisco for the role now as brand reinvigoration kicks up across the portfolio experiences and a new culture of creativity.” Posen is best known for red carpet dresses for the stars as well as costume design for the New York City Ballet while he also worked alongside Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn as a judge on six seasons of tv fashion reality competition Project Runway who took over as President and CEO in August 2023 from Mattel while he was still basking in the afterglow of movie product brand spin-off Barbie and the apparel retailer has been focused on improving its products brand positioning and marketing ever since Net income for the quarter ended Nov. 2 came in at $274 million, a healthy rise over the prior year comparable figure and broadly in line with analyst expectations. Operating income rose to $355 million in the quarter from $250 million in the year-prior period. Total revenue rose 2% to $3.83 billion, just topping Street estimates of $3.81 billion, while total same-store sales rose 1%. GapStudio is the next iteration of the recovery, moving the retailer into new customer segments and giving the overall brand an ethos and identity it has lacked since the heady 90s when the three letter motif helped redefine casualwear. Might GapStudio butt heads with the more upscale Banana Republic? Given that Posen oversees everything, the likelihood is that he will be able to retain differentiation as Banana Republic redefines its own offer in the wake of a disastrous stray into homewares and furniture. Kaelin is a shopping and fashion writer for InStyle, covering fashion, beauty, and celebrities. She got her start in 2019. As fashion and beauty writer, Kaelin taps into her extensive retail experience, finding the season’s best products for InStyle readers. .css-9d8khp-TimeTag{display:inline-block;}4 months ago The Federal Reserve will be forced to hike its benchmark interest rate by the second half of the year due to inflationary impact of President-elect Trump's economic policies president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics "I expect them to be tightening once the budget goes through this summer," Posen said middle-of-the-road" versions of Trump's tax cuts tariffs and immigration policies are ultimately approved by Congress it will be "an inflationary situation," he said The tax cuts will be the main driver of inflation given how much they will raise the deficit outlook