Interview

Beginning today, September 10, the Gap says au bientot to its exclusively all-American roots with the opening of a pop-up Merci boutique in its Midtown flagship. Last Fashion Week, the Gap installed Colette, and when Gap goes continental, it goes for the jugular. Espresso glasses, for instance? Un peu French. Teaming up with roi de la bandage dress Hervé Leger? Need we say more?

This stateside version features Gap classics with a French twist, like trench coats customized by artist Soledad; the painted jackets read "I'm Singing In the Rain," which evokes for us not the movie of the same name, but, say, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. They've also got Gap jeans with embroidery by Laurence Ameilie. In addition to the customized Gap merchandise, the store features Merci's signature items sourced from all over the globe. There are Annick Goutal fragrances, Italian pewter and porcelain dishes, and dresses by Hervé Leger. In this case, pop-up means up-market. From Gablonz in the Czech Republic, there are lizard broaches and oversize deco bracelets handcrafted from glass and mercury beads. The jewelry specifically channels the heyday of the Bohemia jewelry industry when ships filled with rhinestones or literally stones from the Rhine River would cross oceans in the name of affordable elegance. That sounds like Gap in every language.


Gap's Merci Pop-Up is in its 680 Fifth Avenue store. The pop-up is open through October 5.