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New concept offers a shopping sanctuary for the fashionably mature woman
By Anne DiNardo
If Old Navy and Gap are for the youthful, idealistic and fun-loving woman in her 20s, then Gap Inc.'s newest concept is for her older sibling, perhaps even her mother.
But older doesn't mean frumpy or outdated. The target Forth & Towne customer yearns for stylish and contemporary clothing that reflects her busy life and slowing metabolism.
"When you reach a certain age, and you're living this big powerful life with family and friends and careers, clothes are an addition to that great life," says Austyn Zung, senior vp, design and product development, for Forth & Towne. "So we stepped back and asked how we can best service these women who want to be stylish and contemporary but just aren't getting what they want out there."
Working with designers at Rockwell Group (New York), Gap sought a retail concept that would please this 35-plus mature woman, who knows what she likes. The name Forth & Towne – referring to the fact that this is Gap's fourth concept – is meant to create a sense of place and community. It launched this past fall, in five locations around Chicago and New York.
"We knew this woman was balancing many aspects in her life," says David Rockwell, founder and ceo of his firm, "and that she was having trouble finding ways to assemble an outfit that worked perfectly."
Gap constructed the Forth & Towne concept around four brands to cover a range of lifestyles. Allegory is for the more traditional sister; Vocabulary reflects an artistic, individual style; Prize celebrates the fun-loving woman; and Gap Edition is for the those who grew up with Gap essentials and are now looking to wear them again as a size 10 middle-aged woman, not a size 2 coed.
How do you take these four distinctive personalities and put them into a store environment that is both inviting and easy to shop? Rockwell says designers started by looking at the rituals of shopping and then creating a place that celebrated that. "This was about creating a sanctuary for a woman with many priorities," he said.
Inspired by what he calls "the generosity of old department stores," Rockwell included places for sitting, fixtures that don't require bending over too far and ample spacing between displays.
At the center of this shopping sanctuary is the area perhaps most women dread – the dressing room.
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