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And now, the main event…

Ryan Murphy’s Love Story has had everyone recalling the 1990s in Kodak hues over these past few months. The fashion industry has been particularly given to nostalgia given the show’s depiction of Carolyn Bessette’s time working at Calvin Klein. Naturally, Calvin’s been enjoying a Love Story bump. But all the ’90s nostalgia got me thinking about Banana Republic, too.

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Introducing the first agentic storefront

Swap built the first agentic Storefront that replaces your traditional static website with an immersive agent-led commerce experience, guiding shoppers through product discovery, to virtual-try on, to checkout in a single experience.

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In an upcoming episode of Fashion People, creative director and consultant Raf de Cárdenas, who worked on the men’s collections at Calvin at the time, recalled a telling moment backstage at a show. A colleague had dismissed one look as “very Banana Republic,” which Klein himself overheard and quickly corrected. The mall brand, the designer noted, had captured a mass audience at an enviable price point. Put some respect on its name, Klein advised in so many words.

Can Banana Republic, which once coasted in Calvin’s wake, also rise again? In the heyday of its cultural relevance, Mickey Drexler’s Gap Inc. helped the brand transcend its roots in safari cosplay to become a kind of knockoff Theory, which was itself borrowing heavily from the minimalism of Klein (and Helmut Lang and Jil Sander). But by the late aughts, all of that had given way to a general American office wear aesthetic—and some serious creative malaise.

Banana Republic’s sales peaked in 2014, when it generated about $2.9 billion across more than 600 stores. According to Richard Dickson, the current C.E.O. of parentco Gap Inc., the brand did just $1.9 billion last year—a billion-dollar drop-off, exacerbated by years of resale mania, the D.T.C. boom, and an increasingly barbelled retail landscape dominated by luxury on one side and fast fashion on the other. Banana Republic, like a lot of brands that once carved out a slightly elevated niche in the mall, is still trying to figure out where it belongs.

Sales numbers illustrate its ugly reality. According to Consumer Edge, which tracks spending across 40 million credit cards, Banana Republic’s average transaction size this quarter is $107—above Gap ($70 to $75) and Old Navy ($55 to $60), but nowhere near designer territory. Its consumer base leans older and affluent: 53 percent of spend comes from shoppers 45 and up, while 47 percent of revenue is driven by households earning $150,000 or more. The under-35 cohort has grown modestly—up three points since 2023—suggesting some early traction for Millennials. But the cross-shopping data is more revealing. Banana Republic customers are still circulating among the mall mainstays—American Eagle, Abercrombie, J.Crew, Ann Taylor, and Madewell. They’re not trading up into luxury, or even consistently mixing in contemporary labels.

On the company’s most recent earnings call, Dickson highlighted Banana Republic’s men’s business—specifically its traveler pants, cashmere, and outerwear—as an area of strength. Women’s, he said, was “becoming more consistent,” a phrase that felt intentionally vague, gesturing at denim skirts and sweaters without landing on a defining item. That’s the crux of the issue. No one can name a Banana Republic hero product the way they can cite the Dôen Sebastiane skirt, an Alo Airlift legging, or a Coach Tabby handbag. As Ana Andjelic, Banana Republic’s former chief brand officer, told me, “For a brand with such a strong point of view, it is unfortunate how much difficulty it has had expressing it in recent years.”

Leadership turnover hasn’t helped. Sandra Stangl, who struggled with her mandate, exited as brand C.E.O. in May 2024, and Dickson has been running the brand alongside its leadership team ever since. Multiple sources describe him as deeply engaged—hands on, even—and treating Banana Republic as something of a personal project. (One former employee told me that Dickson is simply having too much fun to step back.) He may well be the most effective steward the brand has had in years, but the underlying question remains: Does Banana Republic—which Gap Inc. considered selling for years—still have a distinct role within the group’s portfolio?

To its credit, the brand has made a series of smart, culturally attuned—if micro—moves of late. Like every other retailer in the game, it did a Love Story edit. There was a February partnership with Liana Satenstein on a Neverworns Live event, tapping into her genuine nostalgia for the brand from her suburban Massachusetts childhood, and a collaboration with Abandoned Republic blogger Robyn Adams, whose archival project now feeds into the e-commerce experience. More recently, Banana hired celeb stylist Danielle Goldberg, whose clients include Zoë Kravitz, Ayo Edebiri, Greta Lee, and Jessie Buckley, to style its lookbook.

Influencers continue to post Banana Republic finds with genuine enthusiasm, flagging potential hits: Hillary Kerr’s praise for the linen shorts, Becky Malinsky’s shout-out of this sweater, and Satenstein’s “bury me in that coat” supple suede jacket. The marketing spend is doing its job there. But the brand is noticeably absent from the monthly ShopMy bestseller lists tracked by Line Sheet—arguably a more telling signal of real consumer traction. In a moment when you can walk through a crowded mall, have lunch at an Upper East Side restaurant, or scroll through Instagram Reels and instantly recognize the brands people are wearing, Banana Republic still doesn’t register.

On the best campaigns of the season: “Honorable mention for the Eckhaus Latta bum-bag video campaign on Instagram. Totally mesmerizing and utterly delightful!” —An art world person

On Dario’s next move: “He’s needed at Kenzo.” —A consultant who knows these things

More Dario hopes and dreams: “Omg how fun would it be if Dario went to Armani. To die.”—A stylist who wishes these things

On the amazing performance of Reale Actives: “Wait, Alix Earle isn’t the Call Her Daddy person?” —A beauty entrepreneur

Until Monday,
Lauren

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