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Once upon a time, Banana Republic was a safari-themed shop in late '70s Mill Valley, California, just north of San Francisco. Purchased by Gap in the early '80s, the store has since been scaled up to 600 units and rebranded as mall-friendly "luxury," or the place your mom takes you to buy your first pencil skirt.
Well, it looks like the retailer—who parted with VP of design and creative director Simon Kneen at the end of last year—is looking back to look forward. The lead on a teaser for their new collection reads:
We began as outfitters. On safari. Full of adventure. Who knew that after all these years, we would discover a whole new generation of explorers that needed outfitting in a new way, who would insist on doing not what they should but what they loved. None of us ever really knows where the modern journey of life will take us, but we do know... we'll be perfectly outfitted every step of the way. The true outfitters of modern america.In addition to the dedicated microsite, the retailer took out a number of pages in March's InStyle to tout the forthcoming collection which is heavy on shades of beige. · Banana Republic [Official Site]
· Banana Republic Splits With Simon Kneen [Racked]
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