Bold claim: Gap is rethinking its runway-ready image by partnering with a beauty label, and the first sparks are already turning heads. The opening 18 seconds of Gap’s latest commercial, featuring Barbie Ferreira, feel more like a high-gloss TikTok Get Ready With Me than a traditional apparel ad. The actress of Euphoria hops out of bed, heads to the bathroom, runs a quick comb through her hair, gives her face a deliberate massage, and dances in front of her mirror, with a blur of beauty products barely visible on her vanity. What looks like a beauty tease hints at Gap’s broader strategy, hinting at an upcoming cosmetics, skincare, and fragrance lineup slated for next year. In truth, the beauty products in this spot are a clever misdirection; the real emphasis is Gap’s collaboration with Summer Fridays, marking the San Francisco brand’s inaugural fashion partnership with a beauty label.
On Monday, Gap and Summer Fridays unveiled a capsule of co-branded loungewear—hoodies, striped pajama sets, cozy socks, and other comfortable pieces—under the banner of a joint collection. Although the rollout isn’t a direct beauty campaign, it’s strategically aimed at Sephora shoppers who Gap hopes will become interested in its forthcoming cosmetics line. Expect to see Gap x Summer Fridays headbands in future Get Ready With Me videos, and a gift-with-purchase that showcases Summer Fridays favorites like Lip Butter Balms.
Under CEO Richard Dickson, Gap has leaned into collaborations with buzzy brands and celebrities to recapture some of its former cool. This year alone has seen capsule drops with Harlem’s Fashion Row, Dôen, Béis, and Sandy Liang, along with viral campaigns featuring stars like Troye Sivan, Tyla, and Katseye. The result appears to be paying off: Gap has reported seven consecutive quarters of rising same-store sales.
Mark Breitbard, Gap Global Brand president and CEO, describes these activations as the “icing on the cake”—the cake being years of strengthening core business fundamentals, including closing underperforming stores and making the brand’s basics more desirable. “These collaborations give us another reason to talk to our customer, or a new customer,” Breitbard told The Business of Fashion. “The collabs bring a new and unexpected, cool energy to our icons in the brand.”
Beyond a single campaign,
Beauty ambitions are clearly on Gap’s radar. The industry has observed beauty labels shaping trends, from Starface to Merit, and even the broader impact of brands like Neutrogena or Glossier. Traditional beauty brands venturing into fashion typically start with merch like caps or sweatshirts; Summer Fridays co-founders Lauren Ireland and Marianna Hewitt argue that a fashion crossover for Gap’s audience feels like a natural progression given the brands’ easy-yet-sophisticated aesthetics.
Hewitt notes that the fashion extension was almost inevitable, given her and Ireland’s origins as fashion-forward influencers. She describes herself as as much a Gap admirer as a Summer Fridays devotee, recalling how the items both brands loved in youth still serve as essentials today. Her customers are likely to be curious about the collaboration, while the team also hopes to draw new fans into Summer Fridays’ lineup.
Summer Fridays, seven years old and under new ownership by TSG Consumer Partners, has recently pivoted back toward its skincare roots after its lip balms became cult favorites, launching Gentle Reset Daily Exfoliating Pads. While the company did not disclose revenue, data from Yipit valued Summer Fridays’ annual retail sales at roughly $244 million as of September 2025, with expansion onto Amazon and TikTok Shop.
A doorway into beauty for Gap seems to be opening wide. In September, The Business of Beauty reported that John Demsey, formerly of Estée Lauder Companies, joined Gap in a strategic consulting capacity, and Nordstrom veteran Deb Redmond took on the role of general manager of beauty. Breitbard emphasized that the team is still coming together, and while Old Navy will pursue a multi-category approach, the potential for a Gap beauty line is substantial. He suggested fragrance could be Gap’s first foray into beauty, with Old Navy anchoring a broader, cross-category strategy.
Hewitt remains focused on the initial drop while looking ahead to what might come next, leaving room for speculation about whether Summer Fridays will reappear in future Gap ventures. As audiences await future developments, the collaboration stands as a pivotal moment in Gap’s ongoing effort to blend fashion, beauty, and influencer-driven storytelling into a cohesive brand experience.
Would you rather see more direct beauty drops from Gap soon, or prefer the brand to continue testing the waters with fashion collaborations first? Share your thoughts on where Gap should steer its beauty ambitions next.
