Rebekka Bay

In January, Gap announced it would scrap the role of creative director, and with it, the job of Rebekka Bay. It was, frankly, a bummer for anyone nostalgic for the days when Gap was a source for true basics: trend-proof pocket tees, blue jeans, cotton sweaters, and even, yes, khakis. Bay, who came to Gap in 2007 from the H&M-owned label Cos, had vowed to restore the retailer to its clean, casual heyday. But, as Lauren Sherman pointed out at Fashionista, Gap's merchandising structure has muddied the creative direction of leaders such as Bay in the stores.

January's proven a dire month for mid-range brands. Over the past few days, Gap not only axed its Piperlime division, it also eliminated Rebekka Bay's role as the brand's creative director. Meanwhile, Kate Spade just announced it would close all Kate Spade Saturday stores. Roughly three weeks ago, C. Wonder confirmed that it, too, was shutting down and immediately started liquidating all locations. This domino effect feels similar to the glut of teen retailers that 

Gap announced Rebekka Bay, the designer recruited in 2012 to help reboot the iconic brand, is out of the company. "In evaluating the right leadership structure for the brand," Gap is "eliminating the Creative Director role, resulting in Rebekka Bay's departure from the company, effective immediately," the company wrote in a press release. Bay's departure is the latest in a slew of changes spurred by incoming CEO Art Peck. In November, Peck named new presidents for the $16 billion company's Gap and Banana Republic brands, and last week shuttered its digital Piperlime business.

Back in April, Banana Republic announced that it had appointed Marissa Webb its new creative director in the pursuit of a more fashionable image. After posting a cryptic Instagram on Wednesday night signaling the forthcoming arrival of #thenewBR, the brand has now dropped the first images from its fall campaign under Webb's direction. From what we can tell so far, the look involves a lot of slim silhouettes in shades of

Rebekka Bay, the creative director of Gap, has strict rules about how to design a collection. She also has rules for how to break the rules. "Fashion is also about instinct and gut reaction," she says. "So if I suddenly wake up in the middle of the night and think, 'The shirt has to be frilly,' and that's what we really want, then I'm going to say, 'Of course it has to be frilly.' " The frilly shirt will be in 

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. said Monday it has named Rebekka Bay as creative director and executive VP for Gap Global Design, effective Oct. 1. Bay is most noted for conceptualizing, developing and launching the COS brand for Hennes & Mauritz. She spent...