Recently, Katseye, a global girl group formed under the collaboration of Hybe Entertainment and Geffen Records in the 12-week-long competition show, “Dream Academy,” collaborated with Gap on their newest commercial, “Better in Denim.”

The commercial was released on Tuesday, Aug. 19. The girl group was styled in clothes reminiscent of early 2000s fashion trends while dancing to the song “Milkshake” by Kelis. The song was released in 2003, which further adds to the old-school vibe of the commercial.

While building on the stylistic choices of this commercial, the main message is that Gap clothing can be worn differently to reflect one’s own style and personality, which was shown with the various pieces chosen for the commercial.

In a press release, Gap Chief Marketing Officer Fabiola Torres shared her thought process on the essence of the commercial.

“This campaign was built to spark conversation and show how a pair of jeans can be a canvas for personal style,” Torres said.

This connected with the ad’s audience as the brand advocates for individuality through the different styles each of the girls wears, and that is something that many people can relate to in their individual lives.

Sophomore Adrian Bracamontes shared his thoughts on this topic.

“The clothing you find in the ad helps express yourself because now that they are wearing it, now makes you feel like I can wear it too!” Bracamontes said.

In respect to the message, the Gap team allowed Katseye to showcase their personality and culture, allowing the implementation of their individuality, something Gap’s marketing focused on.

With this, members of Katseye discussed their positive experience while filming this commercial. In an interview with Remezcla Magazine, members of the group shared their thoughts.

“Gap didn’t ask us to fit in—they invited us to show up as we are…The denim moved with us, and every look felt like our own. We got to perform as ourselves, bringing our style and culture to every frame. That’s what makes this moment so powerful,” Katseye said in a joint statement.

Furthermore, Gap incorporated the idea of inclusivity by using the formations along with camera angles to portray an image of community within the varying cultures of the dancers involved, which many viewers noticed.

English teacher and Dances of the World club advisor, Ms. Elysa Martineau, shared her observations about the advertisement.

“Not only did they select an incredibly diverse band group, but they also included diverse backup dancers in both ethnicity and body type,” Martineau explained.

Now, the advertisement has gotten a lot of attention by bringing in Katseye, a relatively new group. This brought attention to the group itself and to Gap, a brand in the past couple of years that hasn’t gotten much spotlight from the younger generations.

Junior Rita Gobrial voiced her thoughts on the partnership with the intention of reintroducing Gap to the younger generation.

“Katseye is not as old, they are more of the Gen Z type, so I think it’s like when Gen Z is influencing Gen Z,” Gobrial said. “I didn’t even know who Katseye was until I saw the Gap ad, so it’s like they are influencing each other,” Gobrial said.

Katseye was a great group to represent this, as they are a diverse group that is very present in the youth’s entertainment. Their members come from diverse ethnic backgrounds, which makes them a very suitable pick for Gap to work with.

Kateye is a music group with artists from around the world. The leader, Sophia Laforteza, is a Filipina-American who was born in New York, USA, but was primarily raised in the Philippines. The visual, Manon Bannerman, is a Swiss-Italian-Ghanaian who was born and raised in Zürich, Switzerland. The main dancer, Daniela Avanzini, is a Venezuelan-Cuban-Italian American who was born in Atlanta, Georgia. The main vocalist, Lara Raj, is a Tamil American from Los Angeles, California. The all-rounder, Megan Skeindiel, is Swedish-Chinese American from Honolulu, Hawaii. The maknae, Yoonchae, is Korean from Seoul, South Korea.

Coming from different parts of the world allowed the girls to come together and make what Katseye is today, and with Gap’s collaboration, they have become very prominent in their work under HYBE and Geffen Entertainment.