The Gap and Sandy Liang Collab Is a Whimsical Take on Modern Girlhood

To debut its new collaboration with New York designer Sandy Liang, Hole is inviting audiences right into a whimsical world that celebrates girlhood and creativeness.The limited-edition Hole x Sandy Liang assortment, launching on Oct. 10, contains ladies’s and youngsters’s attire that blends the retailer’s traditional model with Liang’s playful, hyperfeminine aesthetic. It consists of items resembling a pleated denim mini skirt, a vegan fur crop denim jacket, and a bow-adorned hoodie.To advertise the gathering, Hole is releasing its first animated movie, marking a artistic shift from latest promoting that’s featured choreographed dances, catchy soundtracks, and movie star ambassadors resembling Gwyneth Paltrow and lady group Katseye.Animated by visible artist Annie Choi, the advert is about in New York Metropolis’s Decrease East Aspect, on the road the place Liang’s father has a Cantonese restaurant known as Congee Village. Above the restaurant, a younger Liang’s trend desires come to life by means of a magical closet. Although the fantastical animation is a primary for Hole, it’s typical of the retailer’s strategy mixing nostalgia with modernity, mentioned chief advertising and marketing officer (CMO) Fabiola Torres.“If you happen to’re a millennial, you keep in mind when a majority of these animations had been related,” Torres informed ADWEEK. “Hole at all times has these cues from a distinct decade in our artistic.”The Liang partnership made sense as a result of the designer is a longtime fan of Hole who performs with childhood nostalgia and has cross-generational enchantment, Torres mentioned. “It’s two worlds colliding by means of confidence, creativity, and individuality,” she added. “[Liang] is a millennial mother now, and he or she connects with younger audiences as nicely. It feels so Sandy, however so Hole on the similar time.”The comeback tour continuesThis is Hole’s newest buzzy collaboration because it continues a advertising and marketing technique to regain cultural relevance amongst each older followers and youthful generations. In August, it launched a group with baggage model Béis, whereas different trend partnerships have included Harlem’s Trend Row,  Dôen, Madhappy, and Palace.  “Collaborations at all times deliver that spark for the model, driving gross sales however relevancy on the similar time,” Torres mentioned. Dealing with sluggish gross sales, Hole’s advertising and marketing revamp started with the arrival of former Mattel exec Richard Dickson as CEO of father or mother firm Hole Inc. in 2023. Torres and inventive director  Zac Posen joined in 2024.The model has additionally labored with Gen Z stars, together with Troye Sivan and Tyla.To date, shopper sentiment to the brand new advertising and marketing technique “has been very optimistic… driving dialog and engagement,” Torres mentioned. “I don’t need [consumers] to see us as a model, I need them to see us as a peer, as an individual.”Hole Inc. reported flat Q2 2025 gross sales, as much as $3.73 billion from $3.72 billion on 2024. It mentioned it anticipated President Donald Trump’s tariffs to value the enterprise between $150 million and $175 million this yr.