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There’s Always Money in the Banana Stand

Once a respected, middle-market power player and sentimental benchmark of suburban childhoods, Banana Republic is now a well-marketed, slightly adrift mall brand still searching for a signature—and a reason to matter.

Richard Dickson
According to Richard Dickson, the current C.E.O. of parentco Gap Inc., Banana Republic did just $1.9 billion last year—a billion-dollar drop-off, exacerbated by years of resale mania, the D.T.C. boom, and an increasingly barbelled retail landscape dominated by luxury on one side and fast fashion on the other. Photo: Yvonne Tnt/BFA.com
Sarah Shapiro
April 3, 2026

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Ryan Murphy’s Love Story has had everyone recalling the 1990s in Kodak hues over these past few months. The fashion industry has been particularly given to nostalgia given the show’s depiction of Carolyn Bessette’s time working at Calvin Klein. Naturally, Calvin’s been enjoying a Love Story bump. But all the ’90s nostalgia got me thinking about Banana Republic, too.