The Rebel Aristocrat:The Remarkable Life of Lady Diana Cooper

The devil owns Amazon: big tech has infiltrated the fashion world - will we see a revolt?

 

The devil owns Amazon: big tech has infiltrated the fashion world - will we see a revolt?

 

Anna Wintour has welcomed the Bezoses – and their patronage – with open arms. But after a controversial Met Gala, industry insiders are less enthusiastic

 

Hannah Marriott

Sun 24 May 2026 14.00 CEST

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026/may/24/met-gala-jeff-bezos-anna-wintour

 

The press conference for the Met Costume Institute’s spring exhibition is always a stately affair, but this year it was giving “feudal lady addresses her serfs” or perhaps “Marie Antoinette during the last days of Versailles”. Here, among the spectacular marble sculptures of the art museum’s American wing, was a beaming Lauren Sánchez Bezos, who Anna Wintour introduced as a “force for joy”, before adding that “she and her husband, Jeff, have shown with this event that they genuinely, genuinely care about giving back”. Meanwhile, in the outside world, protests against the Bezoses’ involvement had been raging for days. The discrepancy between the word on the street and the deference within the glass-ceilinged room was head-spinning.

 

The Met Gala has recently become a magnet for anti-excess protests, but this was its most controversial yet, owing to the $10m patronage of its honorary co-chairs, centibillionaires Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos. It was not the first time Jeff Bezos bankrolled the gala – Amazon was its lead sponsor in 2012. But this year’s event came at a moment of soaring inequality, as Bezos’s personal wealth has mushroomed and his Donald Trump-appeasing decisions have made him less popular than ever with New York City’s left-leaning fashion and arts crowd.

 

In protest of the gala, the group Everyone Hates Elon projected interviews with disgruntled Amazon workers on to the side of Bezos’s Manhattan penthouse and circulated 300 containers of fake urine within the museum, to highlight Amazon drivers’ reports of having to work so relentlessly they must pee in bottles. Some of the pushback came from fashion insiders themselves: former US Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson co-hosted a rival Ball Without Billionaires, putting Amazon workers on the catwalk, and turned down work with a dream client to boycott the event. “Fashion has always had a talent for laundering. In these moments, it wraps the most sinister individuals in silk, under the warm glow of flashing lights, and manages to convince us it’s culture. This is not new. But I have my limits,” Karefa-Johnson wrote on her Substack.

 

 

A further strand of criticism came from a very unlikely source: The Devil Wears Prada 2, a movie whose iconic editrix, Miranda Priestly, was inspired by Wintour herself. Released a few days before the gala, its spookily on-the-nose plot centred on tech baron Benji Barnes’s attempts to buy the depleted Runway magazine for his girlfriend, Emily. While Barnes is a fictional character, he has certain Bezos-like qualities, including his post-divorce makeover (in the movie it is fueled by Sculptra, Ozempic and testosterone shots), and the storyline echoes unsubstantiated rumors that Bezos wants to buy Vogue for his wife. Barnes delivers a chilling monologue about AI, anticipating a world where the magazine will publish without human involvement. “The future just comes rushing at us like the lava of Pompeii,” he says, with a shrug, while Priestly – the villain of the first movie – heroically pushes back. She slams Emily’s efforts to muscle her way into Runway using her partner’s cash with the very Priestly burn: “You’re not a visionary, you’re a vendor.”

 

According to screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, the plot’s similarity to real-world rumours is a coincidence – but casting a rapacious Silicon Valley oligarch as tyrant to the fashion class in one of the year’s biggest popcorn movies is also a reflection of the zeitgeist. The cultural backlash has been such that you have to wonder whether fashion’s burgeoning relationship with the barons of tech will rupture.

 

The Met Gala plays a unique role in fashion culture, as the only major annual red carpet that enables designers to pursue their wildest, most creative instincts – which is why the frocks are so much riskier, and at times hilarious, than those at the Oscars. The gala also funds the Met’s Costume Institute, one of the world’s biggest and most comprehensive collections of historical clothing, and its exhibitions, the most recent of which, Costume Art, saw Sánchez Bezos (and her cash) playing a particularly prominent role. This year, the gala raised $42m. Tickets were a chilling $100,000, up from $35,000 in 2022, an inflation coinciding with an increasingly tech-oriented guestlist, which included Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg and staff from OpenAI. Any suggestion that Bezos, Brin and Zuckerberg, who have buddied up to Trump as his administration has defunded the arts, attended the Met Gala because they care about the preservation of archival garments feels slightly ridiculous.

 

What the tech barons do want from fashion, seemingly, is cultural cachet. For the Bezoses, the event is just the latest in an ongoing campaign to win fashion kudos, much of it facilitated by US Vogue. The magazine ran a glowing Sánchez Bezos profile in 2023, then doubled down on that endorsement with a digital wedding cover in 2025. In the past six months, the couple has sat front row at Paris fashion week shows, and announced donations of tens of millions of dollars in grants and scholarships devoted to sustainable fabrics. Wintour, who stepped down from her role as editor of US Vogue in 2025 to take on a bigger role at publisher Condé Nast, continues to oversee the Met Gala. She has a history of bringing people she deems culturally and commercially potent into the fashion fold – Kim Kardashian, for example – even when the peanut gallery argues they have not earned the prestige. The industry usually sees things Wintour’s way. Indeed, many top designers have worked with Sánchez Bezos, including “image architect” Law Roach and Schiaparelli, who dressed her for the Met Gala in her preferred cleavage-centric, hourglass aesthetic (though, tellingly, on Instagram, neither appears to have put an image of their work on the grid).

 

 

As the dust settled on the gala, the fashion insiders I spoke to expressed continued discomfort about the Bezos sponsorship, which they felt was disappointingly representative of the direction at Condé Nast, which recently closed its most progressive outlet, Teen Vogue. They were disappointed too, that so many otherwise politically vocal celebrities attended the gala despite the outcry. (Those who glided down the red carpet included Anne Hathaway, Bad Bunny, Rihanna, Margot Robbie, Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams. Taraji P Henson and Mark Ruffalo were among the few to post anti-Amazon videos; media reports of boycotts from Meryl Streep and Zendaya were not confirmed.)

 

I think fashion is going to continue to embrace [the Bezoses]. The question is whether they become normalized

Amy Odell

 

But then, the insiders I spoke to themselves did not feel able to speak out. One creative in the fashion world told me that he had found the event “horrific” and “naff”. “If it was up to me, it would be the end of the Met Gala,” he said, but he did not want to slam good friends – designers and stylists – who had worked on red carpet looks. Another emerging designer, whose work appeared in the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, told me she was not aware of the Bezoses’ involvement until long after she had started working on the show. She felt deeply conflicted about the whole thing, concerned that she was being tokenized, “because we know that the Jeff Bezoses of this world don’t care what broke people have to say”. Ultimately, she decided she could not turn down the exposure. “It’s so hard to try to fight it before you have any power to make change.”

 

The situation in fashion feels bleak, she said. One of the reasons that tech billionaires are on trend is because so many luxury brands – the customary sponsors of exhibitions like the Met’s – are struggling. Last year, Burberry announced plans to cut 1,700 jobs while Kering, which owns Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, closed 133 stores. “It’s hard to watch: people who have been working for years in the industry that should be protected and have given so much of their creativity, are getting laid off, losing work,” the designer said. “And, at the moment, people like the Bezoses are the only ones funding this stuff.”

 

For all the backlash, Amy Odell, fashion journalist and author of the Back Row newsletter, doesn’t think the tech billionaires are going anywhere. She doesn’t buy the rumours of Bezos acquiring Vogue, but there are so many other reasons why he would want to be part of the fashion industry. Amazon has long sought to get closer to luxury fashion, facing sometimes haughty rebuffs (LVMH chief financial officer Jean-Jacques Guiony said in 2016 that “the business of Amazon does not fit with LVMH full stop”).

 

And there is the glamour, of course. Maybe the Bezoses are wooing fashion because “it’s fun for them,” Odell speculated. “He’s having a midlife crisis, he’s getting some new clothes. His wife wants to be photographed and in the spotlight.” In an oligarch attention economy, she theorized, “the tech people you can name” are becoming the Kardashians. “They bring publicity. I think fashion is going to continue to embrace them. The question is whether they become normalized the way the Kardashians did.”

 

There are even more reasons those at the top of the fashion industry would be keen for this to happen. For one thing, Sánchez Bezos is what Odell describes as “a VIC”, or very important client, one of the “2% of luxury buyers who account for 40% of sales – that’s the bread and butter for luxury brands, not aspirational customers”. Condé Nast, meanwhile, would view Bezos as an ally, whether for Met Gala-style donations or for deals such as a recent agreement allowing Amazon to pull content from Conde’s publications for AI-generated podcasts.

 

Whether because the gala has become so complex and incendiary, or because Wintour, 76, will one day retire, the Costume Institute does seem to be considering its next move. Its lead curator, Andrew Bolton, told the New York Times that by 2028 or 2030 the institute will have saved enough money in a “quasi endowment” that it will no longer need annual gala support. Bolton said: “The Met Gala is extraordinary, but sometimes it dwarfs everything,” and added that the department’s reliance on it felt precarious. “What if there was another global disaster, and people were like, ‘I can’t come to a party?’” Each year, he said, the gala has become bigger and more high profile, and “there will be a point where that’s not sustainable”.

 

That said, Odell points to a post-gala podcast interview with Condé Nast’s CEO, Roger Lynch, in which he said that this year’s controversy was “good … the intrigue around this event just seems to grow!” Perhaps, Odell said, “they count on the internet’s memory being short. Perhaps they just don’t care, because they don’t talk to normal people.”

 

If it’s true that those at the top of the industry can’t hear the outcry from the little people at all, it’s easy to imagine the gala – and the luxury industry it represents – spinning ever further into oligarchland, with tech barons playing all of the starring roles.

 

At which point, the creatives whose ideas and elan have always driven the fashion industry forward may not want to cheer them on. They may want to eat them.

Son of Mango fashion chain founder arrested in Spain over death of father

 

Son of Mango fashion chain founder arrested in Spain over death of father

 

Catalan police questioning Jonathan Andic over father Isak Andic’s apparent fall down a mountain ravine in 2024

 

Sam Jones in Madrid

Tue 19 May 2026 13.35 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/19/jonathan-andic-son-mango-isak-andic-arrested-death-father-spain

 

Police in Catalonia have arrested the son of Isak Andic, the founder of the fashion chain Mango, and are questioning him in connection with the death of his father in the mountains near Barcelona almost 18 months ago.

 

Andic, who was 71, died in December 2024 after apparently falling 100 metres down a ravine while hiking in Montserrat with his son, Jonathan. His death prompted tributes from politicians, journalists and the fashion world.

 

Although an initial investigation by the Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, had regarded it as an accident, officers and judicial sources told El País and La Vanguardia last year that the case was being treated as a possible homicide.

 

On Tuesday, the Mossos d’Esquadra said Jonathan Andic, who is now vice-chair of the Mango board, had been arrested. A spokesperson for the family confirmed he was being questioned over his father’s death.

 

“The cooperation has been, and will remain, total,” the spokesperson said, adding that the family was confident of Jonathan Andic’s innocence.

 

El País reported last year that police had found no direct or definitive evidence to explain what happened in the ravine, but had “come across a series of clues which, when taken together, had led them to move away from the idea of a mere accident and toward the possibility of a homicide”.

 

La Vanguardia reported that the judge overseeing the case changed Jonathan Andic’s official status from witness to possible suspect in September last year.

 

The Andic family issued a statement to the media at the time, saying: “The Andic family has not and will not comment on Isak Andic’s death in all these months.

 

“However, they wish to show their respect for the ongoing investigations and will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities, as they have done so far. They are also confident that this process will be concluded as soon as possible and that Jonathan Andic’s innocence will be proved.”

 

Isak Andic, who was born to a Sephardic Jewish family in Istanbul in 1953, emigrated to Catalonia with his relatives in the late 1960s and started selling T-shirts to fellow high school pupils.

 

He progressed to running a wholesale business and sold clothes in street markets before opening his first Mango store in 1984.

 

“He saw that we needed colour, style,” Mango’s global retail director, César de Vicente, told Agence France-Presse in March last year.

 

Andic soon opened dozens more stores around Europe and “realised that having the same name, having the same brand, in all the shops would make the concept much stronger”, added De Vicente.

How much did the Queen know about Andrew? | Andrew Lownie | The New Statesman

The Astonishing Story of Harris Tweed

This documentary produced by Sartorial Talks explores the astonishing world of one the most famous fabrics in the world : the iconic Harris Tweed, produced on the remote islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland by a community of people who still weave by hand at home. Harris Tweed is the only fabric in the world which is protected by an act of Parliament which defines exactly how to produce it in order to print on it the famous Orb label. A fascinating story of people working in harmony with their land and their traditions.

Inside King Charles III's Private Country Estate: Highgrove House

 

British High Streets Were Perfect... Until We Let This Happen

 

The Decline of the Churchill Sisters: Aristocracy Behind a Wartime Legend

RALPH LAUREN | Polo Ralph Lauren | A Studio Visit with Laird Mackintosh

20 Items Grace Kelly Loved You Can Still Buy Today | Cultured Elegance

 

20 Items John F. Kennedy Loved You Can Still Buy Today | Cultured Elegance

 

Oldfield Outfitters

info@oldfieldclothing.com

Joe Oldfield - 07903 485246

You are welcome to visit us, by appointment, at;

The Old Rectory, Pinfold Lane, Hindolveston, Norfolk NR20 5BX

Our Story...

https://www.oldfieldclothing.com/pages/about-us/

 

THE INSPIRATION

Our story starts with my grandfather, a man whose life was woven into the fabric of Courtaulds Textile, where he worked for his entire career. He began as a tea boy at 18 and remained with the company until his retirement. His service, however, was interrupted by World War II, where he commanded a fleet of minesweepers. A true “English Gentleman,” he had an impeccable sense of style, always embracing the latest fashions. His love for fashion went hand in hand with his other passion: motor cars. Many of our designs are inspired by the wardrobe he wore, both in times of war and peace.

 

OUR STORY BEGINS IN BORANUP, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The spark for our brand came in 2003 during a road trip through Western Australia. It was then that I came up with the idea of asking a local knitting club to create sweaters based on vintage knitting patterns. My aim was to recreate the timeless, elegant designs of the 1920s-40s, an era when clothing was built to last. With a deep appreciation for fashion and vintage luggage from this time, I knew I had to bring this vision to life.

 

FAST FORWARD

Eight years later, now working as a golf professional in Brancaster, England, we had our first sweaters knitted by an elderly lady named Dorothy.  These initial samples were the starting point of something much bigger. As we refined the designs, we realized the need for trousers to complement the knitwear. Disappointed by the direction golf fashion was taking, we continued to focus on the 1930s for inspiration. The result? A high-waist, corduroy, and moleskin trouser that perfectly captured the era’s style and sophistication.

 

OUR FIRST ORDER

We placed our first order with a factory in Yorkshire, and the excitement of receiving our first “Oldfield Clothing” (as we were known then) products was a dream come true. With a small display space in the golf shop at Brancaster, we launched our first website later that year. The 1930s-style trouser sold out quickly, prompting us to expand into shirts. Our Jersey cotton shirts, available in a variety of collar styles, became an instant hit for their practicality and timeless appeal.  The sample knitwear that was knitted became a reality and was added to the range.

 

MOVING FORWARD

As the years have passed, our range has grown including the introduction of ladies clothing, each new addition carefully chosen to complement the others. We continue to grow, always with passion for what we do and commitment to quality.  We sell worldwide, demonstrating that it’s not just us that appreciate fashion from these times!

 

We could have easily taken the route of moving our manufacturing abroad for cost savings, but we've remained committed to our core values. We believe in creating high-quality, well-crafted clothing right here in the United Kingdom. Our dedication to local production allows us to stay true to our principles and avoid contributing to the cycle of fast fashion.

 

Made in United Kingdom.

 

OLDFIELD OUTFITTERS

We started with the family name - "Oldfield" - because it was a great fit for our vintage brand. At first, we were Oldfield Clothing, but in 2015 we gave ourselves a refresh and rebranded to Oldfield Outfitters. We worked with a brilliant branding and design company, specialists in early 1900s style, to bring our vision to life. Every design is hand-drawn, giving each piece a unique, one-of-a-kind quality that makes us stand out.

 

FINAL WORDS

Our core beliefs remain unchanged: we design stylish clothing inspired by what we consider to be the “Golden Era of Fashion,” using only the finest British fabrics and craftsmanship. All based on original archive pieces and photographs.  From golf enthusiasts to motoring aficionados, hipsters to celebrities, our clothing is worn by people of all ages and walks of life.

 

"Quality & Style Never Go Out Of Fashion"

 

The "New Preppy" style in 2026 blends traditional 1980s Ivy League aesthetics with modern, looser silhouettes, emphasizing sustainable, durable, and comfortable clothing.

 

The "New Preppy" style in 2026 blends traditional 1980s Ivy League aesthetics with modern, looser silhouettes, emphasizing sustainable, durable, and comfortable clothing. Key trends include layering vests over T-shirts, oversized fits, cricket jumpers, and mixing high-end pieces with vintage finds. It's a return to classic, timeless prep.

 

Key Elements of Modern Preppy Style

Silhouettes: Moves away from "twee" and tight fits to more relaxed, 1990s-inspired Polo and J.Crew styles.

Key Items: Polo shirts, rugby shirts, cricket jumpers, blouson jackets, high-rise chinos, and tailored, unstructured suits.

Colors & Patterns: Traditional pastel colors (pink and green), alongside navy blue, argyle prints, and classic madras.

Accessories: Niche baseball caps (e.g., from resorts or tennis tournaments) and leather loafers.

Brands: Continued relevance of staples like Lacoste, J. Crew, and Ralph Lauren.

 

The Evolution of the "Handbook"

While Lisa Birnbach’s original Official Preppy Handbook (1980) defined the WASP elite, the modern iteration is more inclusive, focusing on personal style rather than status. The style is increasingly defined by a "casual-yet-put-together" look. The "new" prep is influenced by the "Ivy Style" movement, which emphasizes a timeless, comfortable approach to fashion.

writing in black and white

Sartorial Snapshot: Issue 07.

Field Notes From writing in black and white

Christine Morrison

Apr 04, 2026

https://writinginblackandwhite.substack.com/p/sartorial-snapshot-issue-07?selection=a2fe51b5-8020-42f8-946f-4eb4861ca20e#:~:text=As%20someone%20who%20bought%20Lisa%20Birnbach%E2%80%99s%20original%20book%20in%20October%201980%20and%20still%20treasures%20the%20dog-eared%20copy%2C%20I%20was%20initially%20conflicted%20about%20the%20remaking%20of%20the%20book

 

This Week: The New Preppy Handbook

 

A few nights ago, Paul Stuart — the 88-year-old brand known for its classic, high-end Ivy Prep styles — hosted the launch party for Dozer Presents: The New Prep, a preppy handbook project from Dozer Magazine founder Justinian Mason.

 

The New Prep is a general issue featuring Preppy Pete, a NYC-based fashion influencer, while The New Preppy Handbook is a more curated, NYC-focused edition, reminiscent of 2nd, a Japanese magazine that created their own version in 2023. Both sell for $35.

 

We all rejoiced when prep made a huge showing on the Spring 2026 runways — from higher-end designers: among them Thom Browne, Tory Burch, Miu Miu and Celine (where it’s been said Michael Rider is “rewriting the Preppy Handbook”) to our beloved heritage brands: all hail Ralph Lauren, J. Crew, Brooks Brothers and the revitalized J. Press under the preppy tutelage of its new Creative Director/President (formerly of Rowing Blazers), Jack Carlson.

 

As someone who bought Lisa Birnbach’s original book in October 1980 and still treasures the dog-eared copy, I was initially conflicted about the remaking of the book. Prep is personal. Cultural. It’s more than nostalgia or recycled trends.

 

But what strikes a chord about modern-day prep — and this new iteration of the book— is that it reinforces prep is not a uniform that requires a pedigree; it’s an even broader vocabulary. Prep has always signaled identity, taste and values. How we are interpreting it now, adapting the styles and weaving them into our chaotic lives, is something quieter: how we see ourselves.

 

As Tommy Hilfiger, who has been redefining the preppy aesthetic for decades, has said:

 

“I think preppy stands for optimism, confidence, energy and authenticity.”

 

Ralph Lauren has echoed this sentiment:

 

“People ask …does it have to do with class and money? It has to do with dreams.”

 

These iconic designers point to the same idea: Prep isn’t about where we came from, but about where we are going.

 

I believe this so wholeheartedly, it’s the essence of my fashion essay collection: what we wear shapes who we are—and who we’re becoming. Fashion is not about external validation but rather our internal compass. True, often raw emotions —grief, pride, fear, courage and more — are so often managed in what we choose to wear.

 

And in this moment of social, political and economic uncertainty, Prep offers something steady—structure, stability, a sense of order. But unlike retro trends that merely recycle the past (the 90s might over-indexing currently wouldn’t you say?), modern prep is more self-aware and more open. It honors tradition while allowing for individuality, blending history with the realities of how we actually live now.

 

So, pop your collar. Or don’t. The point isn’t perfection (it’s taken me decades to say this with conviction) but perspective. The best prep looks reflect how we move through the world — and the optimism we hold onto.

"Tweedland" has reached 9.000.000 page views ! Thanks to you all ! Jeeves.

 

REMEMBERING 25/07/2012: Rugby Ralph Lauren Tweed Run 2011

REMEMBERING: 5/February 2013: Rugby Ralph Lauren is closing ... A salute to Lee Norwood, designer of Rugby ...

Rugby Ralph Lauren was discontinued in early 2013 as part of a strategic corporate decision by Ralph Lauren Corporation to phase out the sub-label, close its 14 stores, and shut down its e-commerce site to focus on scalable global opportunities. The brand aimed at younger, college-aged consumers with a preppy, dark academia, and distressed style.

Key Reasons for the Disappearance:

• Strategic Realignment: The company wanted to focus resources on its core, more profitable brands, specifically the main Ralph Lauren label and Polo.
• Failed Market Position: The brand struggled to deeply appeal to its target demographic compared to competitors, and the "overstyled" preppy aesthetic was shifting in popularity.
• Economic Pressures: The closure occurred during a period of economic uncertainty, which heavily impacted niche sub-brands.
• Overlap with Core Brands: Many of the unique elements of the Rugby line were deemed better suited to be recycled into the core Ralph Lauren offerings, rendering a separate brand redundant.

Rugby Ralph Lauren is an American clothing brand launched in 2004 under the management of parent company Polo Ralph Lauren. The brand specializes in Preppy/Rugby inspired lifestyle apparel for male and female clientele ages 16 through 25. Rugby also encompasses Rugby Food & Spirits, a small café modeled after the brand and offering dining inspired by the Rugby theme. Rugby merchandise is available at twelve stores throughout the United States and as of August, 2008, online at rugby.com.
In November 2012, it was announced that Ralph Lauren would be ending the Rugby line by February 2013. At that time, the Rugby stores will close permanently and the website will go down.
The brand consists of a line of rugby shirts, polos, jackets, suits, dresses, outerwear and accessories, all with a distressed or embellished flair, as well as RRL signature Rugby Football shirts that can be customized by buying patches in-store.

Lee Norwood
 (…) “ Lee is one of many behind the scene designers that keeps the initials ‘RL’ polished across the globe. Lee’s natural humility is traced to growing up in North Carolina delivering newspapers, mowing lawns, bagging groceries, working on a farm, laying concrete, and painting houses. His southern upbringing and perspective on integrity came from a creative mother and an ordained father, principles Lee has shared with his wife, Betsy, and two daughters, Hattie (4), Jose (1). Lee carried these genuine values into his career and made his way up the ladder at RL from sales to design and learned that the Polo culture is about "Putting your life experiences into your work." Lee’s touch at RL is associated with functionality, durability, and timelessness. In Lee’s words, “I love the tradition of men's clothing, and how we pay more attention to fit and taste than to modernity or fashion. I like how in the past collections were created out of necessity, ... , people designed for a particular function.”
By By Shea Parton in http://www.apolisglobal.com/journal/people-lee-norwood-ralph-lauren-designer/

The Ultimate Guide To Preppy Style | Fall Outfits Men | Ralph Lauren

Sales Are Up. Celebrities Are In. Is Gap Officially Back?

 

Sales Are Up. Celebrities Are In. Is Gap Officially Back?

 

Richard Dickson has drawn inspiration from the clothing retailer’s early days as he tries to regain its cultural cachet.

 

Jordyn Holman

By Jordyn Holman

Of all the Gap brands, Old Navy is where Jordyn Holman shops the most.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/10/business/richard-dickson-gap.html

May 10, 2026

 

At Gap’s headquarters in San Francisco, an archive dedicated to the apparel company’s 57-year history features nearly 6,000 boxes of memorabilia documenting the retailer’s brands, which also include Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta.

 

There are prints from photographers like Annie Leibovitz and material related to many celebrity ad campaigns, like Missy Elliott and Madonna for Gap and Cindy Crawford for Old Navy. Those dated back to the retailer’s heyday, when malls were full, celebrities wore the brand on red carpets and Gap stores were plot points in sitcoms like “Seinfeld.”

 

When Richard Dickson started as Gap’s chief executive nearly three years ago, he was awed by those archives and set out to change the conversation about the company.

 

Gap had spent years closing hundreds of stores across the United States, as sales flagged and profits were patchy. Its stock, which peaked in 2000, was languishing. The company took more than a year to fill the C.E.O. position.

 

Mr. Dickson, who spent nearly 20 years at Mattel, brought with him a playbook that had helped revitalize the toymaker’s brands like Hot Wheels and Barbie. He got Barbie to the big screen, with star power and a marketing machine that produced blockbuster financial results.

 

The native New Yorker speaks excitedly about the ways that fashion, entertainment and music are intertwined. He went to Coachella last month and has been to the Oscars in recent years. He often mentions how Gap’s first store, which opened in 1969 in San Francisco, sold records, tapes and jeans.

 

Mr. Dickson’s culture-focused strategy is taking root. For his creative director, he hired Zac Posen, who dressed Kendall Jenner in a Gap gown for the recent Met Gala. Gap has made toe-tapping ads featuring Katseye and Parker Posey. Mr. Dickson even hired another C.E.O. — a chief entertainment officer — to oversee the company’s push into content, licensing and Hollywood.

 

Gap’s comparable sales have risen for eight straight quarters, and its market value has increased to $8.5 billion, from $3.6 billion when Mr. Dickson started. Last year, Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic posted sales increases, with only Athleta recording a decline. Gap’s namesake brand showed the strongest growth.

 

Mr. Dickson, 58, credits the turnaround to “being aware of pop culture, content, art, theater, music, entertainment.” If a brand makes sure that those themes come through, “you become more relevant,” he said.

 

This interview was edited and condensed.

 

As you try to bring Gap back into the cultural conversation, how are you managing your time? Are you spending more time in Hollywood?

 

As our business evolves, my allocated time also changes.

 

When I first got to the company, we were in “fix mode.” It’s no secret. My time was 100 percent spent on the operations, the financial rigor, setting up strategic priorities and editing a lot of the noise in the system that can be very distracting for a turnaround.

 

Over the course of three years, we’ve emerged a better company. Now we move into the next phase, which is to build momentum. My focus, while not taking my eye off the operational discipline, moves more into how to accelerate our growth.

 

I have a multitude of meetings and time spent with the entertainment community, which I’m very familiar with from previous roles.

 

When you were hired from Mattel, the chatter was that you would try to recreate the Barbie magic. Is that true, or is there a different strategy for Gap?

 

It’s actually the same playbook. It is not so much that the playbook is unique; it’s the methodology and the execution that’s unique.

 

The playbook is, first, identifying what’s our reason for being.

 

You could put me on any brand in the world. Why do you exist? What is our purpose? What’s our point of difference? Those simple questions have very complicated answers when you’re in a turnaround. If you can’t answer it in a sentence or two, or one or two words, you’ve got a problem.

 

Old Navy is different from Gap. Gap is different from Banana. Banana is different from Athleta.

 

So let’s focus on Gap. What makes it distinctive?

 

When I look at the history of every one of our brands — it wasn’t dissimilar to the Barbie conversation — what was it that broke through? What was that single thing that made it so incredibly relevant?

 

In our case, it was a store that was all-inclusive before inclusivity became a word, because we sold jeans for all races, all sizes, all sexes. We bridged the generation gap in the experience through music. Music was the connective tissue in the context of the store experience.

 

Let’s get back into that music narrative with great product storytelling and amplify it in a way that is relevant for today’s consumer. We started with Jungle with our linen campaign. We moved to Troye Sivan with a great music video around the baggy and loose trend. Then, of course, the blowout with Katseye.

 

These aren’t ads. Yes, you see the fleece because it looks incredible. But nobody’s saying, “Oh, my God, it’s a great deal with a great price.” They’re saying: “Did you see this? Did you feel this?” That is when you get emotional connection to a brand.

 

We had become more about price than product. More about stuff, not storytelling.

 

If you’re focusing on entertainment, how do you measure success?

 

We have dashboards everywhere. I think we just turned one off when you walked in because our business flashes on an hourly basis on my screens.

 

We have dashboards that measure brand love, people searching more for our brand and brand attributes that we test and roll out to see how consumers are feeling.

 

Does the focus on entertainment hedge against all of the uncertainty in the world?

 

To some extent, in the world that we live in, we should be that great distraction in some cases, that pleasant place that you love to go to. That ultimately makes a brand stronger, to essentially navigate more complex times. There’s always something that we have to worry about.

 

How worried are you about consumer spending? We’re in California right now. I passed a gas station where it was about $6 per gallon.

 

That was a good deal.

 

Most retailers say that consumers remain resilient, but are you prepared for spending levels to drop?

 

We have a fantastic portfolio that addresses all income cohorts.

 

We have quality products that should last, in some cases, for generations. You’re buying it for the long haul. But we do recognize that we need frequency: We need to stay fresh. We need to stay new.

 

There are a lot of businesses that will start to pull back on quality, right? We’re not.

 

You’re from New York City, right? Tell me about your upbringing.

 

My parents were both in retail, real estate and fashion. My mom was more on the creative side, and my dad was more on the financial and operations side.

 

My grandparents were also in fashion and retail. They were Holocaust survivors. My grandmother sewed and had her own line in department stores. My grandfather ran the factory, so they had a small business that did very well. I remember growing up and running around the factory floor.

 

What’s a piece of advice that you received that you still reflect on today?

 

Retail is detail. There’s not a single day where everything goes right, but at the end of that day you could still say that it was a great day.

 

Ultimately you’re firefighting on a minute-to-minute basis. You’re constantly in motion. That sense of detail orientation is probably an attribute that’s carried with me from my earliest days in the industry.

 

It’s time for the lightning round. What’s on heavy rotation on your music playlist right now?

 

Who I really like right now is Sombr. I saw him at Coachella.

 

What’s the last thing you asked A.I.?

 

To decipher an object that somebody sent me from a museum and I wanted to know which museum it was from.

 

How often do you check Gap’s stock price?

 

I probably check it twice a day. I do a morning check and at the end of the day.

 

When you need to feel most confident, what are you wearing?

 

I love our hoodies, and not only our fleece hoodies at Gap but Banana Republic’s cashmere hoodie. Depending on the vibe, I would go with a fleece or cashmere hoodie. Then I usually throw on a Banana Republic trucker jacket.

 

I wear all of our brands. I have worn a few sweatshirts from Athleta.

 

If you had to explain each of your brands in exactly one word, what would it be? Let’s start with Old Navy.

 

Family.

 

Gap?

 

Individuality.

 

Banana Republic?

 

Adventure.

 

Athleta?

 

I’m going to go with empowerment.

 

Jordyn Holman is a Times business reporter covering management and writing the Corner Office column.

Meghan’s Royal Exit—Sophie Drops a Bombshell

Why Nobody Wants the Chrysler Building

The Chrysler Building is struggling to find a permanent owner because it is a "tough asset" plagued by a massive ground lease, high vacancy rates, and a backlog of expensive repairs. Despite its status as an Art Deco icon, the building's value has plummeted from $800 million in 2008 to roughly $150 million today.

 

1. The Fatal Flaw: Ground Rent

The primary reason nobody wants the Chrysler Building is that the building owner does not own the land beneath it.

• The Landlord: The land is owned by Cooper Union, a private college.
• Rising Costs: Annual ground rent skyrocketed from $7.75 million in 2018 to $32.5 million currently. It is scheduled to jump to $41 million in 2028 and $55 million by 2038.
• Financial Deadlock: Current income from office tenants is often insufficient to cover these escalating lease payments, leading past owners into default and even eviction.

2. Deteriorating Conditions

Nearly a century old, the building requires an estimated $150 to $200 million in immediate renovations to meet modern standards. [1, 2]

• Plumbing & Infrastructure: Tenants have reported brown tap water, frequent elevator outages, and outdated electrical systems.
• Exterior Issues: The iconic stainless-steel spire is leaking, and the original masonry walls provide poor insulation.
• Legal Protections: As a landmarked building, any major changes require strict approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, making modern upgrades slower and more expensive.

3. Low Demand for Historic Office Space

The shift toward remote work has hit the Chrysler Building particularly hard.

• Inefficient Layouts: Modern "Class A" office tenants prefer open layouts and high ceilings. The Chrysler Building's thick column lines and fixed floor plates make it difficult to create the competitive workspaces companies now want.
• High Vacancy: Recent reports place the building's vacancy rate between 14% and 20%.
• New Competition: Newer skyscrapers nearby, like One Vanderbilt, offer state-of-the-art amenities that the Chrysler Building currently cannot match.