After what seemed like an extended period of complacency, Loft is being re-energized.
Modernizing the product, launching subbrands, widening the appeal and audience, and efforts at being culturally relevant, such as tying into the Coachella festival, have been part of the agenda. Now Loft is aiming to get another lift by featuring actress Emma Roberts in its holiday campaign, marking the brand’s first celebrity partnership. She’s famous for her film roles, front-row presence at fashion shows, and red carpet appearances.
The Loft x Emma Holiday 2025 campaign launches Monday and will run through the holiday season. Roberts will appear in ads, video, social media, on Loft’s homepage, in store windows, digital marketing, and on digital billboards and out-of-home ads in New York and Los Angeles. The campaign was photographed by Nadine Ijewere at Pier 59 Studios.
“Over the last 18 months we really focused on evolving the brand, expanding our customer reach, and modernizing how customers experience the brand. There’s been a lot of exciting things happening that have started to create this great momentum for us,” Erin Landon, president of Loft, told WWD. “The brand needed to evolve.”
Landon said the company first focused on “getting the product right and shifting to more of a modern, on-trend mix and look, while keeping that playful spirit our customers love.” Core products have been maintained, but a year ago Loft introduced Loft Versa, considered a “modern, effortless” workwear subbrand with an urban lifestyle point of view. Loft Beach, another subbrand, was revamped this year with a different perspective and look.
“It’s not just swimwear. It’s all about the beach lifestyle, from dresses to two-pieces to cover-ups,” said Landon.
Emma Roberts in a Loft holiday 2025 outfit.
Nadine Ijewer/Courtesy of Loft
During Coachella last April, Loft kicked off its Summer of Loft campaign which later continued with more than 40 activations and events at Loft stores in key markets.
“Summer of Loft was a real accelerator for the brand,” Landon said. “It hit the sweet spot between brand relevance, emotional connection and great storytelling.”
The goal, she said, was to “insert Loft into the cultural conversation of music and fashion. It has led to positive comp growth each quarter since, as well as double-digit growth in our digital business and consistent growth in our customer file. This campaign, in addition to all of the evolution that we’ve done with our product assortments, with new initiatives like Loft Versa or Loft Beach, with our marketing and the way that we’re projecting the brand to the customer, has allowed us to introduce new customers to the brand, but also stay engaged with our core. We have a diverse product offering, but we still have the things customers love — that playful, joyful spirit that we’ve been known for.”
She said Loft attracts customers in a wide age range, with the sweet spot being those between the ages of 35 and 50.
According to the company, Loft’s top-selling product is the Palmer wide-leg pant. So far this year, more than 840,000 units have been sold. The Riviera pant is the second-bestseller; 640,000 units were sold this year. Another bestseller, Loft’s wide-leg denim pant, so far this year has sold about 600,000 units.
In December, Loft will debut a new store concept in the King of Prussia mall in Pennsylvania. “There’s definitely things we’re testing within it, like new ways of merchandising, but the plan is to roll out more of these in the future,” said Landon.
The 6,300-square-foot store has what the company described as elevated fixtures, a refreshed expression of the brand, and a product assortment spanning the entire breadth of the collection. Loft operates 371 stores and 130 Loft outlets.
“We do have a store opening strategy for 2026 into 2027 but I can’t divulge those details today,” Landon said.
Next year, Loft is expected to launch a few new subbrands, including Rivet for denim, in early spring. Also planned, a 2.0 version of the Summer of Loft campaign, building upon its initial success. “Emma could absolutely be a part of that,” said Landon.
Loft was founded in 1998 as a less expensive and more casual version of Ann Taylor. Originally marketed as Ann Taylor Loft, it became just Loft in 2009.
“It’s an independent brand with an independent point of view and customer base,” Landon said, though they are both part of the KnitWell portfolio of retail specialty brands owned by the Sycamore Partners private equity firm. KnitWell also operates Chico’s, White House Black Market, Haven Well Within, Lane Bryant, Soma and Talbots. All told, KnitWell’s volume is about $6 billion. KnitWell does not break out individual volumes for its brands.
Loft began its association with Roberts, who is the niece of Julia Roberts, with her appearance at the brand’s denim activation at the Camp Poosh event during Coachella last spring. She was outfitted head-to-toe in Loft.
“Partnering with Emma Roberts was the perfect opportunity to bring a fresh, new perspective to Loft and introduce the brand to new eyes, who share our passion for effortless style, great fits and authenticity,” Landon added. “We loved how she looked in our clothing, and we knew that she would resonate deeply with our customers.”
“It was clear that Emma loved the brand and that she embodies the vibe of the Loft woman — confident, effortlessly stylish, and always evolving,” said Bill Miller, chief marketing officer for Loft, Ann Taylor and Haven Well Within. “We wanted to build on that connection and decided to expand our partnership with Emma to launch our first celebrity campaign with Loft x Emma Holiday 2025.”
“I’ve always loved fashion ever since I was a little girl,” Roberts said in an interview. “I loved dressing up my Barbies and my other dolls, and I love the idea that you can kind of transform your mood or your personality with an outfit. I think that is so interesting. And I’ve always loved going through the fitting process in every project I do because a lot of times, it’s not until you put on the outfit do you fully find out about the character you’re playing.
“I love Loft because I feel like it’s easy, but elevated. I can find a great pair of denim jeans there, or I can find a head-to-toe outfit for the holidays. There’s this red dress with a big bow on it, with red tights with bow shoes. I can’t wait for people to see that image. It’s just immediately fun and the outfits are already done for you. I love places where you can get dressy stuff, but you can also get stuff to wear every day. And I feel like not a lot of brands can go between the two. I basically got to pick my favorite looks from their holiday collection and kind of mix and match them in a way that felt personal to my style. It was really fun to collaborate my style with their new collection.
“I would say I’m more like a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl on my days off, but I am obsessed with handbags. That’s my downfall.”
She continued: “I love Khaite. They do gorgeous stuff. I love The Row. And I’m also a Vans kind of girl. I love my checkered Vans.
“I finished a movie this year called ‘The Technique,’ and that was a really, really great script that I read, and I got to work with some amazing actors like Noomi Rapace, Ben Platt, Laura Harrier, Nicholas Chavez. It was like a really great cast, and it’s about this kind of revered acting teacher who’s played by Noomi Rapace, and all of us go to her intensive acting workshop, and she kind of systematically starts breaking us down. So it’s kind of definitely a thriller and a little disturbing, which I gravitate towards. And then I’m really excited to be going back to ‘American Horror Story’ for season 13.
“I love horror. I mean, I grew up reading Stephen King, and I definitely saw ‘Poltergeist.’ I was way too young,” though the 1982 Steven Spielberg thriller is Roberts’ favorite horror flick.
The Loft store in Copley Place, Boston.
