As you all know, I love me some controversy. This latest helping, though, strikes me as more bizarre than anything else. You've all seen Gap's "skinny black pant" ads, right? I know I have, and if Gap could be bothered to deliver to the UK, or I wasn't too lazy to hit the shops once in a while, I'd probably have bought a pair by now. The skinny black pant, you see, is a fashion classic. It's one of those timeless looks that will probably never disappear forever, and, just to drive the point home, it's a look epitomised by one of the all-time fashion greats - Audrey Hepburn.
And therein lies the problem. In "reissuing" the skinny black pant, Gap have re-named it "The Audrey Hepburn Pant" and have used old footage of Audrey (in her pants, natch) on their TV adverts. Some, however, say that this is v. bad of them. In fact, today's Guardian carries a quote from a commenter who calls it " a desperate attempt by a desperate company to align itself to someone classy." Miaow!
Gap, meanwhile, say they have no reason to be ashamed: apparently the ads were approved by Hepburn's son, and follow a "generous" contribution by the company to the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.
So, what do you think? A "desperate" attempt at advertising, or just a cute pair of pants?
