If nostalgia is the name of the game, Old Navy is playing to win. As Gen X and Millennials reminisce on the days of American flag t-shirts and low-rise cargo shorts, the brand is diving headfirst into beauty with 21 different products—hair and body mists, lotions and body washes, each in seven different scents—that are retailing for $14.99 apiece.
If the launch seems out of left field, it’s actually par for the course. CivicScience, a consumer analytics company, reports that nostalgia influences 68 percent of U.S. adult purchases “at least a little.” Gap Inc., which is the parent company of quintessential mall-era brands like Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta, has made concerted efforts to amp up its cultural relevance recently. That includes the hirings of Zac Posen, Nordstrom Inc. beauty alumna Debra Redmond as its head of the category, multihyphenate designer Reed Krakoff, and more to oversee a range of categories across the brands. Those moves come after Richard Dickson—the former Mattel exec largely credited with capitalizing on the buzz behind Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” film—joined as president and CEO. (He’s basically who you can thank for the summer of Barbiecore.)
Old Navy thinks the seven different scents are for everyone, but specifically will resonate amongst Gen Z. “I always find it interesting that a generation like Gen Z never lived [that era], but they’re craving it,” Redmond says. “It goes back to this optimism, this joy, this moment in time where as a Gen Xer, it was all about that self expression and really embracing who you were. For the generation now, while they didn’t live it, they’re craving it because it was a simpler time.”
The company’s first attempt at cross-generational appeal came from the Gap fragrance launch earlier this summer, which saw it revive new fragrances under the names of its classic ’90s scents, and the addition of a new one, Harmony. (Those were met with mixed-to-positive reviews). Prior, Gap kicked off apparel collabs with the likes of Hailey Bieber and Victoria Beckham. No stranger to big-ticket collaborators, the company has also looked to a high-profile perfumer to collaborate with on the Old Navy launch. If you’ve ever smelled something from Byredo or know the whiff of Sol de Janeiro’s Cheirosa 62, you know his work. Jérôme Epinette developed the scents.
“When you start working on a collection, it’s hard in the beginning. You ask yourself, ‘Do I go completely crazy? Do I go super niche? Do I do [something] more commercial?’” Epinette says. “After speaking with Deb and the Old Navy team, it was obvious that we needed some common ingredients— nothing crazy or niche—but with an edge. I think that’s why they asked me to work on it.” That’s Epinette’s sweet spot. Take Bal d’Afrique, the Byredo scent that brought a warm, earthy twist to floral notes and quickly became a cult classic.
Most of the fragrances just touch on a handful of notes, many of them particularly popular amongst Gen-Z. Case in point, Gourmand Thrill focuses on toasted pistachio, creamy coconut and salter amber; Fresh Splash touches on juicy pear, salty beachwood and white woods, and was the favorite of Allure beauty director Sarah Kinonen. “Unfortunately, I don’t enjoy most of the scents in the collection (they’re much too sweet for me), but Fresh Splash was a delightful surprise,” she says. “It’s very fruit-forward with juicy pear, but the dry-down warms things up with salty beachwood and white woods. It’s nice! But if I’m being honest, I don’t think I’d get much use of the 8 fl. oz.-bottle—but my seven-year-old niece sure would!” Bianca Richards, Allure’s social media manager, says Sorbet D’Lish, “brings me back to those early mornings before school where my mom would wash and style my hair. These products definitely feel nostalgic to me, and though I have no qualms with the body wash and mist, I don’t think I would use it in my day-to-day routine.”
