On the heels of last year’s successful collaboration, Gap and Dôen are launching a second collection of California vintage-inspired classics that celebrates timeless femininity.
The collection launches May 2 and takes cues from both brands’ effortless and easy dressing, featuring new silhouettes and prints. It also expands into baby and men’s apparel, marking the first time Dôen, the buzzy women’s apparel brand, has offered men’s products.
Building on bestsellers from the previous collaboration, the 38-piece collection is rooted in Dôen’s feminine interpretation of Gap’s styles.
“Honestly for us, we’ve loved the brand since young adulthood,” said Margaret Kleveland, cofounder and chief executive officer of Dôen, who was interviewed with her sister Katherine, cofounder and chief creative officer, over Zoom last week. Margaret Kleveland said she loved Gap from afar as an American staple, its nostalgia, and how it’s evolved over the years.
“One of the biggest determinants in doing a second round — which we truly decided verbally on launch day — was working with the Gap team and the people on the creative side and Mark [Breitbard, president and CEO of Gap brand] on leadership,” said Margaret Kleveland. She said there was so much alignment between their two brands and that comes down to putting the customer first.
Katherine Kleveland added, “We loved working with their design and technical design, and the whole team at Gap has been really incredible to partner with.”
A dress in the Gap x Dôen collaboration.
Clara Balzary, courtesy of Gap
“Our first collection with Dôen set a new bar for how a collaboration can infuse a fresh perspective into Gap essentials, creating covetable pieces that left our customers wanting more,” said Mark Breitbard, president and CEO of Gap. “Reuniting with Dôen — an inspiring partner that shares our values — has allowed us to build on that momentum with a new summer-ready collection.”
Margaret Kleveland and Katherine Kleveland
Courtesy of Gap
The second Gap collection is similarly sized to the first one. “We did it in a more informed way, understanding what the customer really wants from us,” said Margaret Kleveland.
The sisters said they learned a great deal from working with such a large company as the Gap. “They definitely have such a short hand when they speak about their different types of shoppers and customers. They really understand who their customers are, especially related to what our collection is because it was so based on our icons and their icons. They have such a good understanding of who is buying their icons. They are also a pretty scrappy and hard-working team. Another piece that was really important to use was the RISE portion of it,” said Margaret Kleveland.
The Gap x Dôen collection was produced in international factories that participate in RISE (Reimagining Industry to Support Equality). RISE brings together leading fashion brands, manufacturers, civil society groups and trade unions to advance gender equity in the international garment sector. Founded in 2023 by Gap Inc., BSR’s HERproject, Better Work and CARE, RISE provides garment workers with the skills needed to advance in work and life. As part of its commitment to bridging the equity gap, Gap Inc. has reached nearly 1.4 million women and girls through its decades-long efforts to advance gender equity in the global fashion supply chain.
“At Dôen, we were humbled to be selected as a small business partner to join the RISE program, and we’ve launched the initiative within our own supply chain this April,” said Margaret Kleveland. “We are especially excited about the factories chosen to manufacture the Gap x Dôen collection given the role RISE plays in our overall impact strategy.
“For us, to have a seat at the table in terms of those type of large-scale production programs, and that value-add manufacturing relationship felt really exciting and the fact that Gap has been a leader with RISE and we were able to come together and leverage that in terms of the supply chain making this collection was really exciting,” she added.
For the collaboration, Gap’s arch logo is reimagined with Dôen’s typeface on the VintageSoft logo sweatshirt and heavyweight raglan logo hoodie for adults. There are easy summer dresses with new prints like the Pintuck floral midi dress, and the 100 percent linen gingham maxidress. Last year’s popular Eyelet maxidresses are now available in new colors and design features, along with shorter Eyelet shift minidresses in red and indigo.
Other looks include a transitional Gingham denim jacket that pairs with the Gingham denim minidress. Expanded denim styles include the oversize denim jacket, high-rise pleated denim trouser shorts, men’s pleated denim trousers, and denim sailor minidress, which is also available in toddler sizing. For men, there’s also the organic cotton poplin big shirt, along with other menswear staples such as the Eyelet shirt and the pocket T-shirt.
Prices range from $34 to $158.
Describing the customer for this collaboration, Margaret Kleveland said, “There was a ton of our customers shopping the line, combined with all of the new exposure to the Gap customer.”
Further, she said, “There was a lot of brand discovery through the first Gap drop, based on the momentum we have there based on how fast the collection sold out. We’re really hoping to delight our existing customer, but also have another moment for that Gap customer to discover us, through that purchase,” said Margaret Kleveland.
In the first collection, which came out last summer, seven of the top styles sold out in three days. The bestsellers were the oversize icon denim jacket, the high-rise khaki trousers, the cropped eyelet tank top, the eyelet maxiskirt, the eyelet minidress, linen-blend Pointelle sweater and the Pointelle tank top.
The collaboration is for two seasons.
Katherine Kleveland said the second collection is a little more summer-leaning. “There’s a little more of a ’60s nostalgia meets a ’90s minimalism.” She said it’s a coastal feeling with a bit more high contrast.
An ad image from Gap x Dôen.
Clara Balzary, courtesy of Gap
The collection was manufactured in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
As far as their entry into menswear, Katherine Kleveland said they’ve always done a line that looks gender-neutral, with inclusive sweaters that Dôen customers’ partners, brothers and boyfriends and husbands have worn, as well as the company’s male employees. “They’re always making the knitwear theirs, or a barn jacket,” she said. In their first collection, the sisters saw a lot of the crewneck sweaters were being adopted by men. “That informed our decision to officially do a male assortment,” said Katherine Kleveland. There are five men’s styles being offered in the collaboration.
An ad image from the Gap x Dôen collection.
Clara Balzary
For the collaboration, they didn’t design any five-pocket denim jeans, but one of the key pieces they’re excited about is an indigo gingham ’60s minidress and a denim jacket.
Last year, the collection’s success exceeded their expectations. “Now that there’s more awareness, we’re really optimistic,” said Margaret Kleveland. The sisters anticipate the bestsellers will be the gingham and the stripes.
Margaret Kleveland said the ad campaign features longtime muses and supporters — “women we admire and who have been part of our journey from the beginning. This collection is a tribute to them and to the partnership that brought us here,” she said.
The campaign was photographed by Clara Balzary, featuring a cast of women including Alex Noiret, Bruna Tenório, Veronica Campos, Imani Randolph, Anny Choi, Achok and Kirsty Hume. The campaign captures authentic connections and joyful moments celebrating the brands’ shared values of community and togetherness. It was shot in February in New York. Because it generally sells out quickly, there won’t be billboards, but the images will appear in high-impact social media, emails and in-store windows.
Dôen, which was founded in 2016, has seven freestanding stores in the U.S., with an eighth coming soon in Nantucket. Most of the stores are concentrated in the West Coast and New York. They recently opened a store in the Marin Country Mart.
The Gap x Dôen collection will be available globally starting May 2 at noon, ET, 9 a.m. PT online and at select Gap stores.
