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Will Gap’s New Fragrance Collection Succeed in Leveraging 1990s Nostalgia?

Written by Nicholas Morine

It’s no secret that Gap Inc. has been zeroed in on expanding its assortment when it comes to the beauty and accessories arena, with CEO Richard Dickson making remarks late last year that these “sleeper categories” were an untapped opportunity, per Retail Dive.

“We believe that those are two very big opportunities for us to go after attracting new generations as well as high-margin businesses that will complement our apparel business,” Dickson said at the time.

Now, it appears that Gap is making a move on that front, leveraging 1990s nostalgia by having reimagined versions of its iconic fragrance lineup front and center as Gap Beauty launched five Gap Fragrance options.

“We’ve modernized Gap’s signature fragrances for the person who grew up with Gap and for those discovering it for the first time. It’s a deeply personal category and a powerful way for us to connect generations as we continue to evolve the brand,” said Mark Breitbard, CEO and president of the Gap brand, in a press release.

The five fragrances — Dream, Grass, Heaven, Om, and Harmony — will be familiar to fans of the original scents; Dream being advertised as the “closest” to its original outing, providing a “warm, woody scent”; Grass is clean, fresh, and draws from green mandarin, matcha, and Virginia cedar; Heaven is described as “softer and more sensual,” owing to the usage of a proprietary amber molecule alongside pear; Om is appropriately both deep and grounded, borrowing from cedar, ginger, and sandalwood; and finally the playful Harmony is based around apricot nectar, amber, and gardenia.

If social media discussion around Gap’s original fragrance lineup is any indication, success could be in the cards regarding this new assortment. Consensus across a variety of threads on Reddit showed a serious love for the ’90s Gap perfume offerings.

“Grass had me and girls in a chokehold in middle school! I forgot these existed! They ALL smelled good,” one user wrote.

“I need to find these and smell these. I have the strongest core memories of going to the mall as a preteen and smelling these, but I haven’t smelled them since so I know the rush of memories will be potent,” a second added.

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