“My name is Pink, and I’m really glad to meet you.”

I’ve never been a high-fashion girlie. It has always felt a little out of reach for me, so I’ve never had my head turned that way for too long. 

And honestly, it seems like the rest of Gen Z might be feeling some of that distance too.

We’re struggling out here!

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73% of U.S. Gen Z consumers say rising prices have changed their spending habits, and around 40% are spending less on clothing. (Bank of America, 2023)

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But never have I ever been more entertained and absorbed by fashion than I am now. 

From Gap performances like Young Miko’s “Sweats like this” and KATSEYE’s “Better in Denim” to, most recently, Milan Fashion Week taking over my feed, I’ve been entranced by fashion’s growing obsession with performance and cultural inclusion.

That was until I opened the comments on one video and everyone was screaming, “CAMP ROCK 🗣️.” Now I can’t unsee the militant-like dancing.

This summer, I even went to Coach’s Tabby pop-up during WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago to exchange a book for a new one and a Coach leather bookmark.

And I absolutely loved it.

Now, Coach has been recommended to me by Pink.

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PinkPantheress, that is.

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For Fall 2026, Coach launched Live Your Story, a campaign collaboration with Spotify built around the line “Your style. Your soundtrack. Your story.”

The campaign brings together talent from around the world including PinkPantheress, SOYEON, Lilas Ikuta, Shan Yichun, and Elle Fanning. 

Music is woven throughout Live Your Story from start to finish, with artist-inspired Tabby bags, personalized Spotify playlists, and even concert-ticket bag charms.

And Coach is taking that idea further with the Tabby Tour, which kicked off in New York this September and runs into 2027. 

It's an experiential activation and musical performance where artists have conversations surrounding their creative journeys and perform live, alongside interactive discovery spaces, photo booths, and tour ticket kiosks.

Fashion brands today aren’t showing up like fashion brands. Now they are showing more like entertainment companies.

For Gap, that isn’t entirely new. The brand has been mixing fashion, music, and culture long before they gave it a name – fashiontainment. But in the past few years, Gap has returned to turning clothing ads into something people actually want to watch.

And this year, they took it one step further by appointing their first-ever Chief Entertainment Officer. (Yes, that’s a real job). 

CEO Richard Dickson, the former president and COO of Mattel behind Barbie's turnaround, explained the thinking straight up in a recent Vogue article: 

“Fashion is entertainment.” Customers aren't just buying clothes anymore They're buying into brands that tell stories and participate in cultural conversations, he explained.

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With the way Richard Dickson successfully reintroduced Barbie into culture, I’m willing to hear him out.

We don’t just throw on an outfit anymore, we like it to fit into our world. We make our outfit fit into an aesthetic.

That extends into everything we do now. Our playlists match our outfits. Our outfits match our whatever niche our algorithm has decided we belong to. Even our coffee orders, hobbies, and habits have become little statements about who we are.

Everything we do now has become a statement of identity. Particularly because the internet LOVES giving it a label.

And when Gen Z does splurge on clothes, McKinsey says we’re looking for things that feel unique and express who we are.

So fashion is really just one piece of the world we’re building.

And when you’re this particular about your world, you’re also pretty particular about what gets to be part of it.

If a brand wants in, it better not interrupt but bring something with it.

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Marketers have been obsessed with the attention economy forever. How do you stop the scroll? How do you capture Gen Z’s attention? How do you go viral?

But I don’t think Gen Z is short on things trying to get our attention. If anything, we have the exact opposite problem.

We grew up drowning in ads, sponsored posts, targeted cookies, and brands trying to text us they’re our close personal friend.  At this point, our brains have a built spam filter and BS detector.

Which is why I love Fashiontainment. 

Yes, we’re still being marketed to, obviously. But instead of interrupting something I care about, the brand is actually adding to it for once.

It almost feels more like a gift than an ad:

• Gap gives us iconic performances we actually want to watch and come back to.
• Coach drops us right into a fandom we already love (PinkPantheress for the win).
• A pop-up hands us somewhere real to go—like walking away with a custom leather bookmark I will mention for months.
• A playlist gives us a soundtrack to replay.

Fashiontainment goes beyond getting our attention. It gives us a reason to invite the brand into our world and actually want to see what it does next.

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We’ve all seen what happens when brands try too hard to force their way into culture. It feels a little desperate and immediately clockable.

There’s a reason “Silence, brand!” became the internet’s favorite reflex. We’re exhausted by brands masquerading as our mutuals, lurking in comment sections, and wedging themselves into conversations where they don’t belong.

What makes Gap and Coach exciting right now is that they aren’t just taking up space. They’re giving something back.

Whether that’s a performance worth replaying or a super cool pop-up worth physically showing up for.

These are things people would actually care about, even if there wasn’t a pair of jeans or a Tabby bag attached.

So as much as I love watching Fashiontainment expand beyond Gap, marketers, please don’t ruin a good thing.

Don’t treat subcultures like focus groups to exploit!

Respect the craft, support the artists, and don’t just borrow from culture.

Leave it richer than you found it.

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