Old Navy's Glow Up & the 'Middle-Class Brand Renaissance'

Is Zac Posen’s ‘new old’ Old Navy just a refresh, or part of a larger movement bringing quality clothes back to the masses? Let’s discuss.

Gap this. Gap that. I love the enthusiasm, but we need to talk about Old Navy.

[Said no one ever in the past 26 years, except for me… right now. Get your popcorn.]

Let’s cut to the chase.

The Rundown (For Context)

In February of this year, Zac Posen was notably named Executive VP and Creative Director of Gap Inc. And less notably, he was also appointed to Chief Creative Officer of Old Navy.

Now, for those of you who don’t know, Gap Inc. owns Gap (the brand), Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and apparently (according to Google dot com) something called INTERMIX, which I have genuinely never heard of in my life. It might be fake. Probably not, but their vibe is off.

Anyway, Zac Posen… famously a #gownguy. He’s known for large, dramatic, red-carpet dresses with excellent tailoring.

And for being an honest, opinionated queen… I mean, judge on Project Runway. He was like a c*nty ventriloquist dummy with strong opinions and that combination speaks to me on a personal level.

But what does this guy know about retail, marketing, and middle-class consumers?

I mean, he’s over here creating Claire Danes’s glow-in-the-dark Met Gala dress.

In 2019, his fashion label ‘House of Z’ closed because of financial difficulties. He was briefly Creative Director of Brooks Brothers (2014-2020) for their women’s collections, and although he did give them more pizzaz, I’m not sure it stuck in the grand scheme of things.

From Luxury to… ‘Regular People Brands’

Fast-forward to now and Mr. Posen is the new creative head honcho for Gap Inc. This decision comes in the wake of countless mass-market brands bringing on high-fashion designers aboard the retail ship. Ex: Clare Waight Keller's new role as Creative Director at Uniqlo, Stefano Pilati’s latest collection with Zara, Christopher John Rogers x J.Crew, and JW Anderson’s latest Uniqlo collab. Sure, high fashion designers have banded together with “regular people brands” (as I like to call them) before, but this feels like a huge shift… like a response to the industry as a whole.

With thrift stores like Goodwill partaking in insane price gouging, department stores in their flop era, and luxury brands riding the price hike wave, there’s a giant gap (no pun intended) where good quality, middle-class fashion brands used to be.

It’s called price “gouging” because this makes me want to grab a spoon and…

[As I’ve been in the process of writing this, Marie Claire read my mind and came out with a great article addressing this exact issue I’ve been ranting to all my friends about the past few months. Thank you #validation.]

Everything is either fast fashion or luxury —no in-between. Even brands that used to market to middle-class American shoppers back in the day (Tory Burch, Coach, Michael Kors) have lost sight of their actual target audience in favor of a young, rich, trendy, nepo baby audience. They are slowly creeping into the upper-class threshold, leaving a giant gaping hole in the retail fashion sphere.

[Congrats to middle-aged Karens— having a Michael Kors bag may finally be a real status symbol now.]

But this isn’t like Stephen Hawking’s version of a black hole that chews you up and spits you out (ew). It’s an opportunity for brands who are innovative enough to take advantage of it.

These successful middle-class retailers aren’t necessarily “rebranding” themselves, but creating a new, better version of themselves with the same core values à la The Substance (2024).

It’s Sue time.

New creative directors are breathing life back into formerly popular/now stale middle-class brands by creating a more defined brand identity. It feels nostalgic because we’re now in a world where people are getting excited about JCrew, Gap, Old Navy, etc. because it actually IS exciting when accessible brands are doing cool things. Affordable, cool, good-quality clothing should not be a luxury few can afford.

Old Navy State of Affairs (Pre-Posen)

So, how was Old Navy looking before February of 2024?

On the outside, pretty uninspired, but believe it or not, Old Navy was and is the second-largest apparel brand after Nike, even before the glow-up.

In Q4 of 2023, their net sales reached $2.29 billion (up 6% compared to 2022). Comparable sales were also up by 2%. So, despite the lack of Old Navy in the cultural conversation, they are making a ton of money year after year.

They represent normal clothes at normal prices for normal people of all ages. Nothing special. Nothing exciting. Just basic.

When I became a real person with my own place and an income (back in 2022), I found myself returning to the gates of Old Navy. I ended up buying a pair of white denim overalls.

These overalls are the perfect fit —straight leg, a little roomy, but fit comfortably at the waist. The quality is nice, thick denim like you see from Levis or something similar. I could tell immediately that they’d last me a very long time, which (of course) is a rare quality for new, affordable clothing nowadays.

Ever since then, I preached the Old Navy word and hyped them up for having decent-quality denim and classic basics. But they weren’t a perfect brand. They still fell into the same “you can only pick 2” trap that most stores operated in.

Sure, Old Navy was decent quality and affordable, but it was certainly not fashion-forward, trying anything new, or pushing boundaries.

My charming representation of what it’s like to be a fashion consumer in 2024.

This is exactly what Old Navy had lost sight of…until Posen began steering the ship. And I say “lost sight of,” because the brand used to be quite THE place in the late 90s/early 00s. We forget that Old Navy was a cutting-edge retailer that single-handedly popularized the in-store shopping experience we know today.

When they opened in 1994, the stores were specifically designed to be like grocery stores, with shopping carts, and impulse items by the checkout counter. Sound familiar? You can thank Old Navy for every last-minute claw clip, face mask, and pack of ankle socks you had to have while bored in line.

Their Performance Fleece was also a thing.

The ‘New Old’ Old Navy — ‘94 Reissue

Posen’s first official collection with Old Navy is The ‘94 Reissue. Even though I was well aware that Zac Posen had been appointed, before walking into an Old Navy last month, I had no idea of his changes to the brand.

[SHOCKING SURPRISE] I was beyond excited when greeted with stylish mannequins and a whole front display dedicated to this ‘94 Reissue. Basically, this was everything I could want from a previously sterile brand.

Tracksuits, classic sweatshirts, cargo skirts, rugby polos, carpenter jeans, and PERFORMANCE FLEECE. Everything that Old Navy was known for in the 90s was staring me in the face. This idea seems like a no-brainer in terms of keeping the same brand values but with a revitalization (instead of a full rebrand). It’s a wonder no one had thought of it before.

Posen looked back at the archives and noticed that Old Navy used to be bold. They used to have a point of view. Over the years, they’ve slowly lost their vibrance, literally and metaphorically speaking. And thus, the ‘New Old’ Old Navy was born.

The icing on the cake? A print catalog.

Last month, J.Crew’s decision to bring back their beloved catalog had everyone buzzing—and for good reason. In true ’90s style, the Old Navy one is packed with editorial photos, cool collages, quizzes, horoscopes, playlists, and spotlight features for each item.

As a marketer and a fashion lover, I must say that editorial photoshoots and styling are criminally underrated. Like, how else are we supposed to know how these pieces will be incorporated into our wardrobe? Give us a brand vision. Seeing how they’re styled and what they pair with is key to imagining them in our closets, and thus taking the purchase plunge.

Are the New Old Navy Clothes Actually Worth the Hype?

Sure, they’re visually appealing, but do they fit right? Is the quality good? Material?

According to Elizabeth Segran in her article for Fast Company:

“Posen had the idea of reissuing some of these early pieces, and he wanted to replicate not only their aesthetic, but their quality, too. T-shirts of the past, for instance, were heavier because they were made of higher-gauge cotton; today’s T-shirts might be made of thinner cotton, sometimes blended with low-cost synthetic fibers like polyester.”

I wanted to give an honest review (quality & all) so I marched to the dressing room with an armful of clothes to give you the rundown.

[This is in no way sponsored by Old Navy, although I certainly wish it was. LOL]

This is called a “utility” mini, so naturally, the quality should be decent enough for me to function doing various activities like hammering nails into my wall, taking nails out (because I put them in the wrong spot), and maybe even lifting some boxes. This skirt is a soft corduroy material but has a certain thickness that sets it apart from the fast-fashion skirts I’ve come across.

My one major gripe about Old Navy in general (that is a “me” problem) is their sizing. I’m typically a size small in tops and a size 2-4 in bottoms, pants, jeans, etc. For some reason, Old Navy’s size 0 in pants are just too big for me, which is kind of insane, because I haven’t been known to squeeze into an actual size 0 since middle school.

I wanted to buy this skirt very badly, but because it was too big, I had to pass. I’m starting the petition (here and now) to make a 00, pretty please.

*Cue ‘Let Me Love You’ by Usher*

Rating: 8/10

I can’t rave about these jeans enough. The wash, fit, quality, and length are fantastic. They are perfectly snug enough in the waist, yet taper out into a baggier fit on the bottom. 100% non-stretch cotton, the denim is thick but not restraining — I can move around in these nicely. I hate when baggy pants feel like they have too much fabric to where it’s excessive and weighing me down and these do a great job of not falling into that category.

I ultimately did not buy these, because although I love them, this kind of pant isn’t my style at the moment.

Rating: 10/10

I love clown-coded clothes. Posen wasn’t lying when he said that the T-shirts would be better quality. This shirt is comfortable yet thick — certainly something that would not disintegrate after a few washes.

Rating: 9/10

Ladies and gentlemen, Performance Fleece is back. These vibrant primary-colored half-zip pullovers are my favorite pieces of the collection (by far).

The fleece itself is pretty lightweight — not the thickest, but it’s incredibly soft and keeps you warmer than you’d think. It sits just below the waist, but if you want a more cropped look, you can totally roll it up without compromising the fit.

I did buy the blue one because I have too many red clothes and a vintage Tommy Jeans zip-up jack that looks pretty similar.

Rating: 10/10

Talk about soft. Again, the fleece hoodie is made of a great lightweight yet thick material. The fit on this one didn’t quite sell me as much as all of the other pieces, as it’s a bit long & slim, as opposed to what I like in a hoodie (long & baggier). It cuts off at a strange point, and for that reason, I did not buy.

However, I love the logo style. It’s classic.

Rating: 6.9/10

Final Thoughts

So here we are. Old Navy, of all places, might just be the unsung hero we've been waiting for—bringing us a world where fashion-forward, high-quality, and affordable actually coexist.

The rise of these “regular people” brands (Uniqlo, Gap, J.Crew), with a renewed focus on quality and style, feels like a much-needed break from the fast fashion fatigue we’ve all been feeling. I’m genuinely excited to be excited about these brands again. It’s refreshing to see a push toward well-made, accessible clothing that doesn’t sacrifice style.