Ever since the advent of normcore, the animate pair of reasonably-priced yet flattering khakis that run The Gap have been pleased. So pleased, in fact, that the brand's new campaign has embraced a revolutionary logic: dress normal because, uh, doing so will make you an individual.
"Dress normal" is the ad campaign's tagline; it features various celebrities dressed normal — in button-ups and dull floral dresses! — while gazing off into the distance. I assume they are all lost in thought, struggling to puzzle through the convoluted sartorial logic in which they have become enmeshed.
"Finding your own version of 'Dress normal' is an art," Seth Farbman, Gap's global chief marketing officer, said of the fall campaign. "My normal is different from your normal, and that's the essence of the campaign." Also, per a press release: "'Dress Normal' boldly instructs individuals to shape their own authentic, personal style — and intentionally challenges every one of us to dress for ourselves."
So... dress normal... but normal is different for everyone else... meaning that normal is highly individual? Were we all being normalnormative until now? Does anything even mean anything? And do I really need to put this much thought into the signification of a pair of black skinny jeans when there is so much in this world that confuses me already? So many questions.
At the very least, at least this belated take on dressing like a normal doesn't cost several thousand dollars.
Images via The Gap.