Gap unveils Roy Lichtenstein capsule for Whitney’s exhibition: 'Let the artwork do the talking'

Gap is launching a limited-edition collection with the Estate of Roy Lichtenstein and the Whitney Museum of American Art, timed to the opening week of the New York museum's exhibition “Roy Lichtenstein: Like New.” The collaboration is an opportunity to “bring together art, culture and self-expression in a way that felt authentic to Gap,” the brand’s CEO Mark Breitbard told FashionUnited.

“The Fisher family [founders of Gap Inc.] has a longstanding connection to the art world, and that appreciation for creativity has always been part of our brand story and DNA. Roy Lichtenstein's work felt like a natural fit because he had a unique ability to take something familiar and make people see it in a new way. Bringing his artwork to Gap icons that people have been making their own for generations felt like a compelling way to celebrate that legacy,” Breitbard said.

The 18-piece collection applies the pop artist's visual language to Gap staples including hoodies, sweatshirts, button-down shirts, T-shirts and accessories.

Breitbard said Gap started developing the collection with its signature styles because they're the pieces that have "the deepest connection to our customers and to the brand."

“Lichtenstein's artwork is so bold and recognizable that we wanted to give it room to shine on silhouettes that people already know and love. The goal was to keep it simple and let the artwork do the talking, creating pieces that feel wearable, approachable and unmistakably Gap while giving people a new way to experience his work,” he said.

Jack Sachs, director of retail and licensing at the Whitney Museum of American Art, told FashionUnited that the partnership is a way of exposing the artwork of Lichtenstein to a broader audience through Gap’s global reach.

“I’m passionate about using retail to bring conversations from our galleries to outside the museum walls,” Sachs said. “Lichtenstein will be exposed to millions who may not have the privilege of living close enough to visit major arts institutions.”

Lichtenstein, who was born in New York City in 1923 and died in 1997, was a founder of American Pop Art. He produced more than 5,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and objects, initially drawing on commercial advertising and comic strips before turning to landscapes, still lifes, figures and art history.

The exhibition, curated by Meg Onli and Alex Da Corte, brings together more than 130 works spanning six decades. According to the partners, it focuses on Lichtenstein's engagement with mass media, the circulation and duplication of images, and popular culture.

“The show brings you inside Lichtenstein’s practice and its essential connection to popular culture and the process of reproduction. We developed this collection with that close to mind and the result, I feel, is something as rich with historical legacy as it is with a contemporary provocation: what does Roy’s work mean to consumer culture today? In the best way- so much of this felt like a school group project, and the Estate and Gap were the best study buddies we could have asked for,” Sachs said.

The collaboration between Gap, the Estate of Roy Lichtenstein and the Whitney Museum of American Art goes on sale on Wednesday at select Gap stores, on gap.com, on whitney.org and at the Whitney's in-museum store.