Tightening the Gap

MANILA, Philippines - When asked about his style statement at a recent preview of the Gap’s fall/winter 2009 collection at Covent Garden in London, Patrick Robinson, the mild-mannered head of design of the iconic American brand, smiles. “Optimistic,” he says. That pretty much sums up Gap’s fashion and business outlook in the midst of the most challenging economic climate in recent American history.

As with other fashion previews — a format Robinson has set for the Gap — picture-perfect mannequins are static on a rectangular elevated ramp, posing for cameras as they show the brand’s latest collection. This time, the venue is an empty industrial old flower marketplace in the center of the city, devoid of all the frills of a typical European fashion presentation.

Clad in a classic black jacket over a black V-neck tee and relaxed Gap jeans with his style signature, the Afro hair, Robinson shares, “The look is healthy. It’s softer, easier, and more relaxed. The hair and makeup, the look — it’s as though you just did it yourself.”

He continues, “Fashion has been too aggressive for a while, especially in Europe. That’s not Gap. We’re an American brand, and what I want to do is casual clothes for the casual lifestyle.”

Casual is also the perfect word to describe Robinson’s warm demeanor. He is down-to-earth, friendly, and engaging. His enthusiasm for American fashion is infectious, and admits to having found his place in the fashion world. “I’m not a big fan of high fashion. I used to dress one percent of the one percent of the population if I was lucky, because that’s actually the amount of people who are rich enough to afford it. I don’t miss that.”

Robinson is the former designer for Paco Rabanne, Giorgio Armani, Anne Klein, and Perry Ellis. He is a graduate of the Parsons School of Design, was chosen one of Vogue magazine’s 100 rising stars in 1996 and has been a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America since 1994.

Since his high-profile hiring two years ago under the leadership of Gap CEO Glenn Murphy and Gap president Marka Hansen, he has been dubbed by the international fashion media as the “savior” of the retail Goliath. But he remains nonchalant about the accolades and says, “I never thought about it. I was never a person who believed in what other people said. We have 45,000 people who show up to work at Gap stores every day, just in America alone. So there’s a lot more around the world. There are brilliant people who I work with who help make it happen…not just me. I just design the product and I have a team of 60 people who also design with me who are really amazing.”

For this season, Robinson’s design statement continues to uphold the quintessential American look with European and Asian touches: “We get the best of Tokyo, the best of New York, the best of Los Angeles…then we put together all these bests. But at the end, Gap is a classic natural-looking American brand.”

Robinson’s personal favorites include the stone purple ombre merino cardigan paired with a merino boat-neck sweater of the same color, the black jacket paired with the knit hooded vest and, of course, the shoes Pierre Hardy customized for the collection. “It was a great collaboration,” Robinson says. “He didn’t even know what the collection was about. I just shared with him the inspiration, and they just totally went together.”

Gap’s overall look for fall is casual enough for everyday yet fashionable enough to be misconstrued for designer garb. “That’s the objective,” Robinson smiles. “The clothes look like they could be four or five times more expensive but they are Gap prices. The pants retail for $49 or $59. The sweaters are from $39 to $88. I guarantee you you’ll love it.”

Colors are muted, and layering is still key for both men and women. Paying homage to denim, Robinson does a series dedicated to the fabric. There are likewise softer pieces in the collection, such as the gray silk drawstring dress paired with gray leather sandals.

A day after the fashion presentation, Robinson sat down with the foreign media in an intimate brunch at the Philippe Starck-designed boutique hotel Sanderson on Berners Street, just off the famous Oxford shopping street.

What is your vision for the Gap?

When I accepted the job, I had short-term goals, which was to build a foundation and remake it so that the brand wasn’t going towards fast fashion. I want it to be a great American classic. My dream for the brand is to become the iconic American brand, every part of it. I believe that’s the heritage of the brand, and I believe I have to build it now around the world.

How is the economy affecting the brand?

It’s difficult times. Why I was hired was so we can get back on track. My boss, who’s the president of the brand (Marka Hansen), made some really hard decisions on how to tighten up Gap, how to think differently about Gap, how to refocus us around the world. Glenn Murphy the CEO came and made even harder decisions: how are you going to grow, are we going to shrink in the US and grow around the world to be a bigger global brand. So we did a lot of hard decisions a year ago and up until now we’re still making them.

Gap has been aggressively penetrating a lot of markets all over the world.

And we’re going to do more and more.

So now that you’re entering more countries, are you trying to be more of a global brand?

Gap is an iconic American brand. We stand for casual clothes and a casual lifestyle. There’s something about the casual American lifestyle that people around the world like. And it is something inspirational because some of the icons who have that casual lifestyle, like James Dean, is relevant in the world. That lifestyle is what we export.

So how do you make Gap relevant to the various countries you enter?

Good question. Right now I have to listen to our people who actually travel there to our stores and check here what they see differently. So we have people who travel constantly to visit our partners around the world. Right now I have to listen and make sure we understand their countries. So with that I can incorporate. Some stores it’s hot all year round, so we adjust.

As for the culture, I have to respect what’s acceptable. I have to figure out the places where I have to make sure that I put sleeves, etc. And you just sort of have to change to make sure those countries still gain enough of that excitement I want to bring to the brand.

Who or what inspires you?

People who really express themselves. Not like crazy, not like they are on the street dressed in something you want to laugh at. Something you just look at, and you go, “Wow, they have great taste.” Like the way they put things together. That’s beautiful and then you process that. I sort of take a picture in my mind.

It’s never celebrities. It’s normal people. That’s why I like traveling. I was just in Japan and I was watching all the men. I was fascinated. I was in Shanghai, and the same thing happened, just fascinated with the way guys put themselves together. I came back with a lot of inspiration.

Who are your favorite designers?

I don’t have any. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of high fashion. I don’t really look at high fashion.

But you used to be in high fashion?

They’re so small. Luxury is really small. You see beautiful stores all over every big city but how many people actually really get to buy it? I get to make clothes now and if I make a cardigan it’s global. I am in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, America. I see Gap on people’s backs all over the world.

How does your design process start?

It starts with a concept.

Do you have a design ritual?

No. When we started this season, I was really into sailing; not really nautical but sort of escapism, like taking a trip. So I thought, how do you bring sailing, sort of taking a cool trip into a collection? Thinking about that, I had a team focused on that. They have shopped and done all that. Then I was watching Saturday Night Live and there was this young guy who was a folk rock singer, Ray Lamontagne, he’s like a young, Bob Dylan type of singer. And so the next Monday I came in, I said: “We’re changing!”

So it’s just being in tune. The team also sometimes brings me ideas. The head of women’s brought me an idea for spring. I was headed somewhere else and she came in with an idea of camping in an urban way. I picked her idea, so it really comes from anywhere.

What are your five fashion musts?

Gap, Gap, Gap, Gap, and Gap (laughs). Seriously, a pair of jeans, men’s V-neck shirt, and plaid shirts. I just bought in every color.

Gap is a very eco-conscious company now.

They went through a tough time in the ’80s. So they put in place a team that started going around fixing our factories. But now if you make Gap denim, we ensure that all the water leaves clean so no water leaves the factory dirty.

We figured out that not only can we be a big company, but also a good company.

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In the Philippines, Gap is exclusively is distributed by Casual Clothing Specialists, Inc. and located at Glorietta 4, Bonifacio High Street, Mall of Asia, Megamall, TriNoma, Shangri-La Shopping Plaza, Alabang Town Center, and Robinsons Place Midtown.