The first 18 seconds of Gap’s new commercial, featuring actress Barbie Ferreira, look more like a TikTok Get Ready With Me with better production value than an apparel ad. In it, the “Euphoria” actress jumps out of bed and heads straight to the bathroom, where she combs her hair with her fingers, massages her face intentionally and dances in front of her mirror. A blurred-out collection of beauty products sit atop her vanity.
The marketing blitz could easily have been a tease for Gap’s upcoming cosmetics, skincare and fragrance lineup, set to launch next year. But it turns out the beauty products are something of a red herring. The ad is for Gap’s collaboration with Summer Fridays, the San Francisco-based brand’s first fashion collaboration with a beauty label.
On Monday, the two companies unveiled “Summer Fridays”-emblazoned hoodies, striped pyjamas sets, cozy socks and other loungewear.
While not a direct beauty play, the collaboration is directly targeting the Sephora shoppers Gap is hoping to draw when it eventually introduces its own cosmetics line. Gap x Summer Fridays headbands are sure to feature in actual GRWMs, and the retailer is handing out a cosmetics and skincare gift with purchase, which include Summer Fridays favourites like its Lip Butter Balms.
Under chief executive Richard Dickson, Gap has been using partnerships with buzzy brands and celebrities to regain some of its own former cool. This year alone saw the release of capsule collections with Harlem’s Fashion Row, Dôen, Béis and Sandy Liang. Ads starring Troye Sivan, Tyla and, most recently, Katseye have gone viral. The strategy appears to be working: Gap’s same-store sales have risen for seven consecutive quarters.
Mark Breitbard, president and chief executive of Gap Global Brand, called these types of activations the “icing on the cake,” with the cake being several years of executing on business fundamentals, including closing underperforming stores and making the basics the brand is known for more desirable.
“These collaborations give us another reason to talk to our customer, or a new customer,” he told The Business of Fashion. “The collabs bring a new and unexpected and cool energy to our icons in the brand.”
Bigger Than a Brand
Many beauty labels aspire to define a trend, like Starface or Merit, or even a whole generation, like Neutrogena in the 1990s or Glossier in the 2010s.
Beauty labels that have toyed with fashion usually start with merchandise like baseball caps and sweatshirts. Summer Fridays co-founder Lauren Ireland said the brand wants to be taken more seriously than that, adding that its easy-yet-sophisticated aesthetic makes it a more natural fit to cross categories.
Co-founder Marianna Hewitt added that the addition of fashion was also likely inevitable, as both she and Ireland started as influencers in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Both regularly share their home and fashion recommendations; Hewitt was previously creative director at Revolve’s L’academie fashion line, a role she has recently wound down.
She sees herself as just as much a Gap fan as she is a Summer Fridays fan.
“The same things that we loved in our teens and our youth are the same kind of essentials we would go to Gap today for,” said Hewitt.
She believes the same is true of her shoppers.
“We think that a lot of Summer Fridays [customers] will want to see what we are doing, but we are also hoping to introduce new people to our products,” she said.
Recently, the seven-year-old brand, which was sold to TSG Consumer Partners last year, has swung back to its skincare roots, after its lip balms became cult favourites, with the launch of its Gentle Reset™ Daily Exfoliating Pads. The brand would not comment on revenue, but per Yipit data, Summer Fridays saw annual retail sales of $244 million as of September 2025. It recently began selling on Amazon and TikTok Shop.
An Entrée Into Beauty
Gap has signalled it has big beauty ambitions. In September, The Business of Beauty confirmed that John Demsey, previously of the Estée Lauder Companies, had been working with the company in a strategic consulting role; Nordstrom executive Deb Redmond was announced that same month as general manager of beauty.
“We see a lot of runway, but we’re really just pulling the team together,” said Breitbard. “When you look at the size and scale that we think Old Navy can drive, [it’s significant] and then we know there’s a big opportunity for Gap. Dream, Grass, Om, there is a lot of consumer demand for those fragrances.”
Breitbard confirmed fragrance will be Gap’s first attempt at beauty, while Old Navy will take a multi-category approach. A person familiar with the project said Gap’s beauty extension will mirror what Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works started in the 1990s and have successfully continued.
Hewitt was coy about whether that future includes Summer Fridays.
“We’re focused on the first drop, but excited about the future,” she said.
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