GAP introduces America's best-fitting premium jeans

Gap jeans were born to fit, what were you born to do? Today, Gap officially launched its all-new 1969 Premium Jeans starting at $59.50. With 40 years of denim experience under its belt, Gap is confident its fresh, new collection with reinvented fits and styles can stand up to more expensive premium brands, but at a price point consumers can afford. Bottom line – Gap's new denim was born to fit. In the same thread, Gap is encouraging fans to reach back to their roots and declare what they were born to do.

In celebration of the new denim collection and its 40th anniversary, Gap is encouraging fans to express their personal style and proclaim what they were born to do through an interactive Facebook gallery, StyleMixer iPhone app and jeans pop-up shops. Gap is also hosting the largest simultaneous acoustic concert nationwide at its more than 700 stores on the evening of August 20th. Musicians across the country will showcase what they were born to do and shoppers will receive discounts on their favorite denim styles.

"Forty years ago, Gap started exclusively as a jeans shop in San Francisco. Denim is our birthright and to celebrate we are reaching back to our roots and leveraging our extensive experience to reinvent an American classic with our new 1969 Premium Jeans – fresh and modern for today's style," said Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America. "Denim is such a foundational part of any wardrobe, but traditionally premium jeans have not been accessible to everyone. We created this new collection to fill the gap – delivering superior fit, finishes and detail at a truly affordable price point."

Born to Fit:

The 1969 Premium Jeans, named in honor of Gap's debut year, were completely reworked and redesigned at every level -from design and fit, to fabric, fasteners and production. The new collection was created with a major focus on fit, premium washes and styles that accommodate different body types.

"Denim is so personal and these days it can be styled for just about any occasion – to the office, on a first date or for a special event," said Gap's EVP of Design, Patrick Robinson. "Our goal in reengineering our denim was to create a range of styles that were cool, sexy and relevant for right now. Every style tells a story and there's a fit for everyone – we created great fitting jeans that really complement and accentuate different body types."

Featuring 12 core fits for women and men, the new premium jeans include classic rinses in hues from the darkest ink to light, distressed finishes. Women's fits include: Always Skinny, Real Straight, Sexy Boot, Long and Lean, Curvy, and Perfect Boot. Men's fits include Straight, Authentic, Standard, Boot, Loose, and Easy. Additionally, Gap is introducing two fashion favorite fits, the Boyfriend for women and Skinny for men.

The 1969 Premium Jeans were made under the strict guidelines of Gap Inc.'s Clean Water Program, which requires that all Gap Inc.-contracted denim laundries treat wastewater to ensure it's safe and clean for local communities. Gap Inc.'s Clean Water Program, one of the first of its kind in the apparel industry, was established five years ago based on clean water standards developed by BSR (www.bsr.org), a global business network and consultancy focused on sustainability.

Born to Share Online:

Interactive Facebook Gallery

Gap transformed its Facebook Fan Page into the ultimate jeans destination. Visitors can check out the 1969 Premium Jeans and participate in the interactive Born to Fit campaign – one of the most robust consumer experiences to-date on Facebook. Launching today at BorntoFit.com, the experience, designed by AKQA, includes:

A Born to Share interactive gallery with pictures of Gap fans telling the world what they were born to do. Visitors can participate by creating and uploading their own "born to" expression.
A virtual, moving runway where fans can watch models sport each fit in three different ways. Visitors can click through to Gap.com and purchase their favorite outfits.
A Fit Spotlight where users can explore the jeans up close and hear commentary about each of the styles from Gap's head designer, Patrick Robinson.
A video of Rada Shadick, Gap's Fit Engineer, discussing the craftsmanship and details of the new jeans.

To provide inspiration, Gap has enlisted celebrities, musicians, entrepreneurs and style-makers to declare what they were born to do, featuring:

Anni Rossi, a young singer, violinist and keyboardist from Minnesota who was born to play.
Tom Szaky, a young Harvard drop-out named the "No. 1 CEO Under 30" by Inc. Magazine in 2006 [beating Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg] for his work as co-founder of TerraCycle, Inc., the world's first products made from and packaged in waste, who was born to inspire.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, a stage and screen actor known for The Lake House, John Adams and most recently The Marc Pease Experience with Ben Stiller and Jason Schwartzman, who was born to be curious.
Melissa Kushner, founder and executive director of Goods for Good, a non-profit organization that provides essential goods to children in Africa, who was born to do good.
Eisa Davis, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright, actor, singer and songwriter known for writing Angela's Mixtape, who was born to do it all.
Anna Gaskell, an American photographer from Iowa who has participated in Moving Pictures at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, was born to embrace uncertainty.
Alessandro Nivola, an American actor from Massachusetts known for roles in Best Laid Plans and Jurassic Park III, who was born to take risks.
Sonya Walger, a British actress known for her role on HBO's Tell Me You Love Me and the star of ABC's new series Flash Forward, who was born to feel.
Cassidy, actress, songwriter and former lead singer of female rock quintet Antigone Rising, who was born to empower.

Videos were created by Late Night & Weekends.

StyleMixer iPhone App

Gap is also introducing the free StyleMixer iPhone app, designed by AKQA. The social shopping app enables users to mix and match clothes, find inspiration, get advice and more. StyleMixers can organize outfits, get feedback from Facebook friends and the StyleMixer community, integrate images of clothes from their own closets and get ideas from other community members. Leveraging a somewhat untapped iPhone technology, the app unlocks special denim discounts when users are near a Gap store.

Born to Share in Stores

In-Store Parties

Enlisting musicians across the country who were born to perform, Gap is hosting the nation's largest simultaneous acoustic concert at its more than 700 Gap stores on the evening of August 20th. A handful of Gap stores in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Nashville and Minneapolis will be hosting special events, with well-known artists such as Marc Broussard, Cassidy, Single File, Matt White and Parachute. In-store parties take place from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. local times where shoppers will receive $20 off their favorite jeans and an additional 15 percent off their entire purchase.

Gap rounded up more than 700 musicians nationwide to perform and is offering free jeans for their participation. Additionally, one lucky performer will win a recording session with music legend, John Alagia. Gap will also be awarding its dedicated employees with 50 free downloadable tracks from each of the 700+ bands performing.

LA & NYC 1969 Jeans Shops

In addition to the in-store concerts, Gap has also opened its 1969 Jeans Shops on Los Angeles' Robertson Blvd. and New York City's 5th Ave, open now through September. In addition to showcasing the new denim collection, the NYC 5th Ave. shop brings the interactive Facebook experience to life in-store. Shoppers can pick up their "born to fit" jeans, watch "born to fit" influencer videos and record and upload their own video to the gallery.

The Robertson Blvd. shop in Los Angeles also features the new 1969 Premium Jeans plus hand selected pieces from Gap's new fall line, including the Shrunken Schoolboy Blazer, the Zip Leather Jacket and the Boyfriend Chambray woven shirt. To celebrate the opening of the Los Angeles shop, Patrick Robinson hosted a celebrity launch party DJ'd by Joel Madden of Good Charlotte.

The Los Angeles Jeans Shop, situated across from renowned celeb-den The Ivy, is unique for Gap because they are establishing a presence on Robertson Blvd. among some high-end shops where premium denim goes for more than twice as much.

The "Born to Fit" campaign, developed by Laird + Partners, is running in-cinema nationwide and in current and upcoming issues of national magazines including Vogue, Vanity Fair, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, InStyle, US Weekly, People, Interview, Nylon, GQ and Rolling Stone. It is also running in the New York Times, New York Post, and online at the new Coco Perez, Facebook, Sugar.com, Polyvore and Thrillist. Billboards and wild postings can be spotted in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.

About Gap Inc.

Gap Inc. is a leading global specialty retailer offering clothing, accessories and personal care products for men, women, children and babies under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta brand names. Fiscal 2008 sales were $14.5 billion. Gap Inc. operates more than 3,100 stores in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan and Ireland. In addition, Gap Inc. is expanding its international presence with franchise agreements in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. For more information, please visit gapinc.com.