Get Your Trend On: The Gap Opens a New Pop-Up Store

Pop-up stores—those that open for a limited period of time, often to sell a specific item or line--are nothing new in New York City; we’ve seen everything from Target to Delta airlines. The latest one to join the fray--and perhaps more in keeping with the economic times than the Hermes store that opened for the summer in tony East Hampton--is the new Gap concept store at 680 Fifth Avenue; one also opened recently on trendy Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles. The New York store, which remains open through September 27 (Monday-Sunday; 10:30 am-7:00 pm) features Gap 1969Premium Jeans, and marks the 40th anniversary of the first Gap denim-and-discs store in, yes, 1969. (The Gap has previously featured pop-up stores in New York with items such as Pantone hued t-shirts and Havaianas flip-flops.)
This store--and the denim line--would seem to be a cheeky nod to the economic climate—on super-luxe Fifth Avenue, all the jeans in this new Gap line retail for under $70. It’s a good way to pull in tourists as well as locals--the jeans are designed with the same trendy fits that other, higher-priced lines carry, such as the looser Boyfriend fit, or the popular deconstructed (read: ripped, torn, shredded) style. It’s also, of course, less of a gamble to open a short-lived store like this at a time when even higher-end shops are closing at a rapid rate--if it doesn't work, it'll be gone in a month.
And lest jeans not seem as exciting as, say, a Hermes scarf, take heart in knowing that for the past two years, many insiders attending New York’s fashion week in September have made a stop at the Gap pop-up store a must.