To debut its new collaboration with New York designer Sandy Liang, Gap is inviting audiences right into a whimsical world that celebrates girlhood and creativeness.

The limited-edition Hole x Sandy Liang assortment, launching on Oct. 10, includes ladies’s and youngsters’s attire that blends the retailer’s basic fashion with Liang’s playful, hyperfeminine aesthetic. It consists of items akin to a pleated denim mini skirt, a vegan fur crop denim jacket, and a bow-adorned hoodie.

To advertise the gathering, Hole is releasing its first animated movie, marking a inventive shift from current promoting that’s featured choreographed dances, catchy soundtracks, and movie star ambassadors such as Gwyneth Paltrow and girl group Katseye.

Animated by visible artist Annie Choi, the advert is about in New York Metropolis’s Decrease East Aspect, on the road the place Liang’s father has a Cantonese restaurant known as Congee Village. Above the restaurant, a younger Liang’s style desires come to life by means of a magical closet. 

Although the fantastical animation is a primary for Hole, it’s typical of the retailer’s method mixing nostalgia with modernity, mentioned chief advertising officer (CMO) Fabiola Torres.

“Should you’re a millennial, you keep in mind when these kinds of animations had been related,” Torres advised ADWEEK. “Hole at all times has these cues from a distinct decade in our inventive.”

The Liang partnership made sense as a result of the designer is a longtime fan of Hole who performs with childhood nostalgia and has cross-generational attraction, Torres mentioned. 

“It’s two worlds colliding by means of confidence, creativity, and individuality,” she added. “[Liang] is a millennial mother now, and she or he connects with younger audiences as effectively. It feels so Sandy, however so Hole on the identical time.”

The comeback tour continues

That is Hole’s newest buzzy collaboration because it continues a advertising technique to regain cultural relevance amongst each older followers and youthful generations. In August, it launched a set with baggage model Béis, whereas different style partnerships have included Harlem’s Vogue Row,  Dôen, Madhappy, and Palace.  

“Collaborations at all times carry that spark for the model, driving gross sales however relevancy on the identical time,” Torres mentioned. 

Dealing with sluggish gross sales, Hole’s marketing revamp started with the arrival of former Mattel exec Richard Dickson as CEO of dad or mum firm Hole Inc. in 2023. Torres and inventive director  Zac Posen joined in 2024.