The Tamesis
Fashion is always shaped and shaped by culture. But in recent years, culture has increasingly become twice as good as commerce, as more brands seek ways to capitalize on the prestige of industries such as film, sports and food.
Brands have made significant investments in entertainment recently, from LVMH launching its 22 Montaigne Entertainment joint venture, which focuses on leveraging the intellectual property, archives and locations of LVMH brands, and Saint Laurent’s film production arm, to the brand’s numerous collaborations with sports teams, leagues and streaming platforms.
Now, Gap Inc. is taking it a step further. To formalize the relationship between fashion and entertainment (what Gap calls “fashion entertainment”), the company named Pam Kaufman its first chief entertainment officer. In addition to the appointment, Gap will open an office in Los Angeles as it looks to embed the company into the U.S. entertainment capital. (Even as much of Hollywood is fleeing to cheaper production locations.) The Sunset Strip space will serve as Gap’s pop-culture-focused workplace, led by Kaufman, who will split her time between Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.
Kaufman joins the company from Paramount where he served as president and CEO of international markets, global consumer products and experiences. At Gap, she will help build and expand the retail group’s entertainment, content and licensing platforms across music, television, film, sports, gaming, consumer products and cultural partnerships.
“Fashion is no longer adjacent to other cultural industries; it is structurally intertwined with them,” said Rose Coffey, senior forward-thinking analyst at strategy consulting firm Future Labs. “Film, music and food are not external reference points but shared cultural systems through which meaning, identity and value are generated.”
Gap President and CEO Richard Dickson understands the power of entertainment better than most in the fashion industry. He joined Gap in 2023 from Mattel, where he had just graduated. Barbiestar press tour. He also hired Zac Posen as executive vice president and creative director, who has dressed celebrities for Gap’s red carpet moments, from Da’Vine Joy Randolph at the Met Gala to Anne Hathaway at a Bulgari jewelry event in Rome.
Dixon believes that consumers want to buy a story, and marketing goes far beyond the product. “Fashion is entertainment, and today’s customers don’t just buy clothes, they buy brands that tell compelling stories and drive cultural conversations,” he said in a statement.
