John Demsey’s American Beauty

John Demsey
There are some heavy hitters involved in the refresh: Last September, Gap Inc. very publicly announced it had tapped John Demsey, the canceled-then-quietly-uncanceled veteran Estée Lauder executive, to help oversee the group’s beauty rollout. Photo: Zach Hilty/BFA.com
Rachel Strugatz
April 8, 2026

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For the better part of the last two decades, Gap has been trying to recapture the magic of its Mickey Drexler era—those halcyon days when the brand was the defining creator of, among other things, mass fragrance. As part of its ambitious, Richard Dickson–led turnaround, Gap Inc. has undertaken a long-overdue, splashy return to the beauty business. The company—which owns Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta— quietly began rolling out Old Navy’s beauty business last year. But industry insiders are far more piqued by the Gap brand’s beauty revival, which will kick off this summer with products that harken back to the brand’s “O.G. idea,” according to a person familiar with the strategy.