Gap Launches Redesigned T-Shirt Collection With "Be Your Own T" Campaign

New Collection Offers a "T" for Everyone; Digital Experience Offers Creative Ways to Upcycle Old T-Shirts into Fashionable Accessories

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Gap

May 10, 2012, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Using the t-shirt as a medium for self-expression, Gap's new global marketing campaign captures how summer's favorite wardrobe staple is an effortless way to convey individual style. Emphasizing lush fabrics and updated figure-flattering fits in an optimistic range of colors and silhouettes, Be Your Own T highlights the three distinct categories of the new T collection—The Now Tees, The Essential Tees, and The G Tees— as well as other t-shirt-inspired styles including dresses, skirts, tanks and rompers.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120510/LA04488)

"Be Your Own T expresses the qualities that make each one of us unique through the lens of a 'T,'" said Seth Farbman, Gap's Global Chief Marketing Officer. "Just as we did with our 1969 jeans, we've reinvented our t-shirt collection from the ground up, offering a t-shirt that fits everyone's personality, style, passions and budget."

At the center of the campaign are two digital experiences: T-It-Yourself (T.I.Y.) and Styld.by. The T.I.Y experience gives people buying new Gap Tees creative ways to upcycle their old t-shirts into fun, fashionable accessories in six steps or less—from flip flops and beach bags, to laptop sleeves and dog toys. The digital experience, created in partnership with Threadless, will be refreshed throughout the summer and will live primarily on Gap's Facebook page. It can also be shared through Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Styld.by, Gap's collaboration with well-respected fashion and lifestyle blogs launched earlier this year, will introduce new content and partners and will feature key items from the men's collection for the first time. Styld.by evolves the idea of a traditional catalog by asking partners to curate their own looks using key Gap pieces of the season and then deliver those looks in a way that encourages people to engage with them and share them through social media. For summer, Styld.by highlights ways to style Gap's new summer Tees from the point of view of each partner, including Refinery29, WhoWhatWear, Lookbook, Rue, HypeBeast and Stereogum.

In addition to the digital experiences, Be Your Own T will be carried out through dynamic, large-scale "T" installations using real Ts that will show up on billboards and in Gap stores in top markets around the country, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami and Dallas. In Times Square, people can interact with the billboard by tweeting a photo of themselves with the hashtag #beyourownt. Using a camera across the street, Gap will take a keepsake photo of the user's photo on the billboard and tweet it back. Keepsake photos will also be published on Gap's Facebook page allowing fans to tag each other.

The campaign will also appear in digital advertisements, on Gap.com and Gap's social media properties. Other initiatives to support the campaign include music festival activations at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Wanderlust.

Be Your Own T was created in Gap's Global Creative Center in New York and will appear in various markets globally.

Summer 2012 T Collection

The women's and men's T collection re-launches with three categories of styles: The Now Tees, The Essential Tees and The G Tees. Prices range from $19.95-$22.95 for more basic styles and $24.95-$29.95 for more fashion-forward styles and higher-end fabrics. In addition to the classic T silhouettes, Gap also created T-inspired styles out of the soft knit t-shirt fabrication, including dresses, skirts, tanks and rompers, ranging from $19.95-$74.95.

The Now Tees, named after iconic New York City and San Francisco locations, house soft jersey knits that are vintage washed for a lived-in cozy look that dresses up or down with ease. Key styles for women include The Mercer V-neck Pocket Tee, The Mason Crew with scoop neckline and banded sleeve and The Fulton Pocket Tee in a novelty textured fabrication. For men, the Rivington slub V-neck, the Clinton double layer henley and the Barrow in cotton linen crew neck or henley are standouts.

The most casual of the collection, The Essential Tees, are garment washed for everyday softness and are more fitted through the chest and sleeve for an updated easy style. Offered in an assortment of sixty-four colors, top styles for men include The Essential V-Neck, The Essential Crew, and The Essential Pocket T.

Finally, The G Tees offer self-expression through a cool collection of pop art and logo tees printed on the softest vintage washed fabric, including the second collection of community-designed graphic t-shirts from the Gap + Threadless partnership. The sixteen men's and ten women's styles retail for $29.95 and the top styles include The Neapolitan and Music Makes Me Happy for women and Soundwaves and Baldie for men. Additionally, from May 7-28, 2012, artists around the globe will have the opportunity to submit their designs for the second Gap + Threadless design challenge—"Vote Bright," which is focused on a politically themed tee. Any kind of political design can be in the running and the designs with the best combination of score and community comments will be sold in Gap stores this fall. To learn more about how to participate, visit www.threadless.com/gap.

About Gap Inc.

Gap Inc. is a leading global specialty retailer offering clothing, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, children, and babies under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, and Athleta brands. Fiscal year 2011 net sales were $14.5 billion. Gap Inc. products are available for purchase in over 90 countries worldwide through about 3,000 company-operated stores, about 200 franchise stores, and e-commerce sites. For more information, please visit www.gapinc.com.