Gap Opens Doors to Cultural Visibility in New “Better in Denim” Campaign

Gap recently launched its new Fall 2025 campaign, “Better in Denim,” featuring global girl group Katseye. The group includes Sophia Laforteza, Manon Bannerman, Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, and Yoonchae Jeung, members from the United States, India, South Korea, Switzerland, and the Philippines, representing a strong global presence, as described by Katseye World. The campaign went viral among many South Asians after Lara Raj expressed her cultural identity.

The Rise of Katseye

Desiblitz explains that Katseye became a global girl group in Los Angeles in 2023 through Hybe and Geffen Records’ Dream Academy. They have become an international sensation after the release of their debut singles in 2024 and their second EP, Beautiful Chaos, which was released this year. The “Better in Demin” campaign for Gap has earned around $1.7 million in media value.

The Campaign

This campaign seemed to be taking audiences back to the early 2000s, with hints of nostalgia through looks inspired by the Y2K era. From low-rise denims to a choreographed routine by Robbie Blue to the song, Milkshake by Kelis.

In the campaign, Raj was seen wearing a bindi, gold bangles, a gold nose ring, and an om necklace. The campaign represented inclusivity, allowing customers and fans to see themselves in the ad wearing Gap clothing. This campaign serves as a wake-up call for many brands to develop campaigns that resonate with a broader audience, instead of creating unrealistic standards that nobody can relate to. Seeing someone with a similar skin tone in a campaign can make one feel seen, especially if they are wearing clothing from a brand that they shop from. It can bring emotions of pride, which the CEO and Designer of holiChic, Megha Rao, felt after seeing images of the campaign.

The Impact

Rao expresses on Instagram that she “stopped to take a picture of this Gap ad, a stunning Indian model with a nose ring, bindi, and om necklace. Saya (her daughter) turned to…[her] and asked why it was such a big deal and why [she] was taking a picture of it. That’s when …[she] realized…for her, seeing people who look like her in the mainstream is simply normal. For…[Megha], it was a powerful reminder that…[her] kids get to grow up with the kind of representation 7-year-old [her] could only dream of. That little girl who always wondered why a face like hers was never in magazines gets to raise a daughter who takes it for granted. That’s progress. We’re always quick to call out when brands get it wrong, but it’s just as important to call out when they get it right.”

 

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According to Desiblitz, Lara Raj responded by stating that “it’s [her] number one mission to make sure brown girls grow up and the entire South Asian community feel uplifted, powerful, and confident…. [She] never want[s] the babies growing up to have no experience feeling underrepresented or not seen the way [she] and so many others did.”

Raj went through her mission and made many feel represented and seen through this campaign. It was almost as if we, ourselves, were a part of the campaign. Raj has had a profound impact on many, making them feel not only seen but also comfortable in their own skin.

The Movement

Katseye, derived their name from the gemstone Cat’s Eye, which creates an optical illusion of different colors seen from different perspectives, as explained by Sophia Laforteza in an interview with InStyle. The campaign isn’t just about wearing denim; it speaks to the truth of individuality through authentic representation, which is the definition of what Katseye stands for as a global girl group and their name says it all.

The campaign was more than an ad; it was a movement that highlighted deeper stories of cultural identities and visibility, reflecting our own experiences. Another person walking past that ad can say, ‘That looks like me.’