• by Sarah Mahoney , Yesterday

Gap just added a little runway swagger to its comeback efforts, announcing a multiseason collaboration with Victoria Beckham. Backed by an ad campaign hearkening back to the brand's 1980s and '90s fashion heyday, the collection is full of recognizable but upscale hits: Capri pants, classic hoodies, organic cotton tees, utilitarian jackets in denim, khaki and green.

Priced from $34 to $328, the pieces all have subtle nods to Beckham's high-fashion collections, including the VB signature in red stitching. And they've got all the fashion mags swooning, with Elle praising Beckham's affordable "wardrobe building blocks," Marie Claire calling the news "genuinely thrilling," and the Guardian describing it as the Gap's "next step in luxification."

"Every collaboration we pursue is rooted in storytelling," says Mark Breitbard, Gap's president and CEO, in the release. "We wanted to work with Victoria Beckham given her iconic influence in the fashion world and the opportunity to reinterpret our iconic pieces through her unique design lens. This partnership feels truly authentic—and that's where the magic happens. It has allowed us to create pieces we hope our customers feel they have to have."

Gap is launching the collection with a campaign it says is inspired by its own archives, "referencing defining denim moments and silhouettes from the late '80s and early '90s, reworked with a precise, modern point of view." Directed by Troy Tyler, it features models Mica Argañaraz and Lina Zhang, and pairs still photography with social-first documentary-style videos narrated by Beckham.

Ads are scheduled to roll out globally, with out-of-home placements, including a billboard in New York's Times Square, as well as digital, in-store, social, earned, and owned channels.

The partnership also combines two different kinds of comeback stories. Beckham's fashion line was debt-saddled for years, often because of her perfectionism, and has since grown to annual revenues of some $170 million, reports the Wall Street Journal. The paper also notes that the drama surrounding the family's estrangement from son Brooklyn Beckham appears to be fueling interest in the Beckham family brand.

And Gap continues to regain its footing after years of declines, recently posting its eighth straight quarter of sales gains. At the Gap banner, fourth quarter net sales rose 8% to $1.1 billion, with comparable sales climbing 7%. The company noted the gains were across all generational segments.