Ambience has been key for Banana Republic’s past few presentations. The Fall runway show had editors sitting pretty on settees at the Bowery Hotel, and yesterday’s Holiday 2011 event took place at Greenwich Village swank spot The Lion. Creative director Simon Kneen (looking quite bronze from a recent vacation in Saint-Tropez) was on hand to [...]

For its Spring ‘11 collection, Banana Republic sent its girls on a desert safari, picking up the seventies-YSL vibe that’s been in the air of late. But something’s blossoming in these hot climes. Among its accessories offerings, which also included oversized statement necklaces in metallic breastplate designs, creative director Simon Kneen created blooming canvas-flower brooches—a [...]

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Mad Men returns this Sunday on AMC, and to celebrate the much-anticipated return of Don, Betty, and their martini-swilling cohorts, AMC and Banana Republic hosted a splashy Hollywood premiere last night at Mann’s Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. After a word from creator Matthew Weiner—no cell phones and no giving away plotlines; “I really don’t want to [...]

Gap. Target. H&M. Uniqlo. J.Crew. In our collab-mad moment, most mass retailers you can name have jumped on the bandwagon, tapping outside designers to create capsule lines, collections, and products to spice up their own offerings. Banana Republic has stood apart, but the lure of the collaboration has finally proved too strong. Tomorrow, the retailer [...]

If you’ve ever bemoaned the gulf between premium denim and Forever 21’s $9.50 jean (yes, you read that right), a trip to your local mall could be in order. The latest in Banana Republic’s efforts to gently reshape its image centers around the New Blues, a well-rounded collection of classically cool—and American-made—denim staples. The brand [...]

At Banana Republic’s refurbished and relaunched Soho flagship last night, the digs were new, but the look of the clothes was decidedly older. “We’ve been relooking at our heritage and old sportswear and we have a lot in our archives that we’re going to rework,” creative director Simon Kneen said. While going vintage is nothing [...]

As the man who made Brooks Brothers cool again several years ago, Simon Kneen knows a thing or two about freshening up classic American brands. In his role as creative director for Banana Republic, he’s aiming to bridge the company’s original incarnation as a travel-themed retailer (remember when its stores used to feature Jeeps and [...]

“The East Village doesn’t need another vintage store,” says Marco Querci, who tonight opens new boutique Change of Season. Instead, Querci and his partner Clinton Curtis created a whole new retail beast: the curated outlet. As anyone who’s spent a draining day at Woodbury Commons can attest, [...]

I like Jon Hamm for several reasons: One, obviously, is the hit TV show that he stars in, Mad Men, which glorifies those lovely be-suited 1960’s hunks. The other is that, like me, he grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, sporting head-to-toe prep gear (Gap khakis for him, Banana Republic V-neck sweaters for me). Only [...]

Editors and publishers assembled in Chelsea yesterday for Simon Kneen’s debut as Banana Republic’s creative director. Kneen, who comes from Brooks Brothers and Adrienne Vittadini, worked a Mad Men vibe for the guys, from the Brylcreem-shiny hair to the ankle-exposing pants and sockless wingtips. For us gals, he fast-forwarded a decade and a half to [...]