Inside Gap’s Blueprint for Reaching Gen Z With Creators and Nostalgia

Gap is trying to stay relevant with Gen Z.

In May, Fabiola Torres was hired as Gap’s first global CMO in two years. She’s a former Pepsi marketing exec tasked with turning around Gap’s sales and re-establishing the strong tie to culture that Gap had in the ’90s.

Much of the marketing strategy focuses on Gen Z and creators. Gap’s recent holiday campaign is the first to launch under her leadership and features young talent like Liamani Segura and Aneesa Strings. Gap has also worked with creator Julia Huynh to create a hoodie. And Gap is working with social creators like dance group Let It Happen.

@gap This is how baggy moves. @norah_yarah_rosa ♬ original sound – gap

ADWEEK spoke with Torres about Gap’s work with creators, reaching Gen Z, and 2025 marketing.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

ADWEEK: Gap has been making waves with its creator-focused campaigns, such as the collaboration with Julia Huynh. What inspired the shift toward working with creators, and is it resonating with Gen Z?

Fabiola Torres: Our thinking is always consumer first. When we think consumer first, the world of digital and social media is exploring and it’s Gen Z—mainly Gen Z creators. There’s so much talent out there, and Gap has always provided a platform for creativity, self-expression, and individuality. This is a fun way to do it.

We saw Julia obsessed with the hoodie, and she wanted to have the best hoodie because she was obsessed with the big hood. We said, “we can do that.” It’s about giving her the freedom and the opportunity to create—not telling her what to do.

What role does storytelling play in Gap’s broader marketing strategy? How do you ensure these stories align with the brand’s heritage while appealing to a younger audience?

It’s in our DNA. It’s an easy task if you ask me.

For older people, this brand brings nostalgia, but nostalgia can be the past. We want to bring the DNA of the brand and make sure that we’re present and future. It’s the intersection of respecting who this brand is and adding modernity.

What do you look for in a creator to ensure a genuine fit with the brand?

We do a lot of research on content, context, and tone of voice. How do they connect with their audience? How would they connect with our audiences to make sure that it feels authentic? How do we make sure that we look good together?

I take it very seriously when we select somebody. And it takes time.

I push the team to choose someone who can—even if our relationship lasts only one season—be related to the brand through time. Because once they’re Gap, they’re Gap.

Many brands are leveraging platforms like TikTok and Instagram to connect with Gen Z. What has Gap learned from these platforms, and how is it shaping your digital strategy?

We do all of the above. We do social listening, which is more like data and analytics. Then we do more of the grabbing of certain things that give us input and insights into consumers that go deeper. And we take this as the start of the ideation process.

The more you get them, the richer our briefs are. And I always like to kick off a briefing process with a lot of what’s happening. I would say a lot of consumer insights, marketplace insights, and chatter that we have from influential people as well.

What are they saying? What are we hearing? What do they want? I’m not personally satisfied with giving people what they want, I love to give them what they don’t know they want. I think the winning brands have done that constantly and consistently.

What emerging marketing trends do you believe will have the biggest impact in 2025?

Everybody talks about AI. For us, it’s more about how responsive we are, how engaged we are, how community first or social first, and consumer first we are, and how big can we go. That’s 2025.

I always tell my team we have made a promise to the consumer. So let’s be consistent, and let’s make sure that we continue driving that engagement and that conversation with the consumer.