Model Lily Aldridge can divide her closet into two eras: B.D. (Before Dôen) and A.D. (After Doên). She can’t remember a single gateway piece that made her a devout fan of the brand’s floral dresses and flouncy, flowy tops. She can only recall an introduction from her friend, interior designer Emily Ward, and an instant shopping spree.
“About 20 things arrived at my house the next day,” she tells me while wearing a gingham, sleeveless dress from the label's spring 2024 collection. Since then, “I’ve worn them to events, I’ve worn them in my normal life, I wore them throughout my pregnancy,” Aldridge says. “I just love them.”
She’s hardly the only one. Dôen has steadily built a close following of editors, influencers, and celebrities since it was founded in 2016, growing through word-of-mouth rave reviews like Aldridge’s for its plucked-from-a-vintage-archive prints and easygoing silhouettes. That fanbase is about to grow by several thousand, courtesy of a collaboration with Gap.
Gap x Dôen entails a 51–piece collection arriving in stores and online on Friday, May 17, with sizes ranging from XXS–XL and prices maxing out at $158. (Usually, Dôen dresses start at around $198.) The collaboration mixes Gap's heritage denim and khaki with Dôen's affinity for dainty florals and lace trimmings, to impulse-buy-worthy effect. Lily Aldridge fronts the collaboration’s womenswear campaign, lensed by Dan Martensen, with her sister, musician Ruby Aldridge. A coordinating line of Gap x Dôen pieces is also shrunk down for children's wear, modeled by twin sisters Levia and Zahar.
Pieces the duos model range from white eyelet midi dresses and skirts to extra-wide leg khakis and striped poplin button-downs with a lace bib collar. For footwear, there are pairs of Mary Jane slippers in deep blue and crushed orange. The whole line is rooted in Dôen co-founders (and sisters) Katherine and Margaret Kleveland’s earliest style influences.
“Growing up, our mother’s '90’s Gap look—so heritage and classic in her approach to dressing—was very formative to my and Margaret’s personal aesthetic and design choices,” CCO and co-founder Katherine Kleveland says. “The thought of collaborating with a brand that evokes the same nostalgic feeling on which we built Dôen felt very inspiring to us.”
That energy comes to life in a range of fabrics including stripes, florals, and Americana ginghams. There’s also some collegiate prep thrown in, courtesy of baseball caps, boat-and-tote bags, and crewneck sweatshirts—firsts for Dôen.
The result is a range that feels specific from Gap’s usual offering without alienating shoppers who only knew the megabrand at the outset. Dôen might be known for a windswept, Malibu coast look, but that’s not the only perspective its pieces can embrace. “It brings us such personal joy to watch our community make the pieces their own, that community spanning generations and demographics,” CEO and co-founder Margaret Kleveland says.
Her point was proven on-set. While both Aldridge sisters have modeled for Gap before, Ruby’s introduction to Dôen was accepting the call for this week’s campaign. And while she considers her style quite different from her sister’s, she was still drawn to the button-down shirts and Dôen-ified Gap denim. “This collection was kind of a meeting point in the middle [of our personal styles],” Ruby says.
“It was fun watching somebody discover it for the first time,” Lily adds, “whereas I've been obsessed forever.”
If Lily has her way, the Gap collaboration will make Dôen even more of a family affair. She’s already set aside one of the children’s tea dresses to coordinate with her eleven-year-old daughter.
Gap x Dôen will be available to shop on Friday, May 17, at noon E.T., online at Gap and in select Gap stores.
