Banana Republic: An Introduction to the Fragrance Brand

“We did not start Banana [Republic] to make money. We did it to be free, to do what we wanted to do, and to be able to go anywhere.”

— Mel Ziegler, co-founder

Essential Information

Founded: 1978 (the fragrance line began in the 1990s)
Brand founders: Mel Ziegler and Patricia Ziegler
Current ownership: Part of Gap Inc.
Fragrance manufacturing partner: Inter Parfums, Inc.
Official website: bananarepublic.gap.com
(Pronunciation note: the Japanese name is read “バナナ・リパブリック,” or “Banana Ripaburikku.” “Ripaburikku” represents the English word “republic,” meaning a state governed as a republic.)

The Founders and the Origins of the Brand

A Reporter and an Artist Meet

Banana Republic’s story began in the newsroom of a newspaper in San Francisco, California. Mel Ziegler was a reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle, while Patricia Ziegler, née Gwilliam, was a courtroom sketch artist for the same paper. Both felt constrained by salaried employment and dreamed of one day stepping outside its boundaries.

“At the Chronicle, I always felt a ceiling above my head. It was a wonderful job, but it was still a ‘job.’ Some people are not born to be employees. They long for freedom. I am one of them, and so is Patricia.”

— Mel Ziegler

The Idea Born from a Jacket

The turning point came in 1978, when Mel returned from a reporting trip to Australia wearing a British Burma jacket. It was the kind of jacket worn by British troops on the Burma front during the Second World War. Patricia replaced its buttons and added leather elbow patches, and everyone began asking where he had found it.

“Once I put new buttons and elbow patches on [the jacket], it seemed to shout character and adventure. Wherever Mel went, people commented.”

— Patricia Ziegler

The couple quickly became convinced of the idea: rework military surplus into safari and travel-style clothing and sell it. They found 500 Spanish paratrooper shirts sitting in an Oakland warehouse and spent all the money they had, just $1,500, buying the lot.

Turning a Setback into a Story

But after washing the shirts and laying them out, they discovered that every one had sleeves that were too short. Their entire investment had become a pile of flawed stock. Patricia was unfazed. She rolled the sleeves up to the elbows, declared that “nobody would wear them at any other length,” and took them straight to a flea market in Marin County. They sold rapidly.

The incident would later be told as an episode embodying Banana Republic’s DNA. Turn a weakness into a story and invent a background for a product, and it will sell: this method was used consistently in the stores that followed.

The Catalogue as a Medium

Even before opening their first store, Mel and Patricia created a catalogue. Featuring witty fictional stories written by Mel alongside Patricia’s hand-drawn illustrations, it was sent to 500 acquaintances and media contacts. A New York radio announcer read from it on air, and a flood of orders arrived three days later. A direct-sales business that began with the words “send us a dollar and we will send you a catalogue” eventually became the backbone of their brand.

The First Store in Mill Valley

In 1978, their first physical store opened in Mill Valley, California. With neither money nor experience, they built displays from whatever materials were available. Palm fronds stuck on top of a telephone pole became a palm tree, and a closet draped with camouflage netting served as an improvised fitting room. Customers were captivated by this world.

The Sale to Gap and the Founders’ Departure

Five years later, in 1983, the couple accepted an acquisition offer from Gap, Inc. founder Don Fisher. By then they had two stores and their homemade catalogues were reaching customers nationwide, but cash flow was a constant struggle.

“Don said, ‘I do not want to run your company. You can do what you want. As long as you make a profit, I will finance anything.’ I said creative autonomy was a condition, and he agreed.”

— Mel Ziegler

With Gap’s backing, Banana Republic expanded rapidly, reaching 101 stores and $250 million in annual sales. After Black Monday in 1987, however, Gap’s management began interfering in the creative side, undermining that autonomy. The couple walked away from a substantial compensation agreement and left the company around 1988.

“Freedom was the reason we were there. The moment freedom disappeared, we said goodbye.”

— Mel Ziegler

They subsequently moved on to new ventures, including the creation of The Republic of Tea.

Entering the Fragrance Market

The Fragrance Business Begins Under Gap

After the founders left Banana Republic, the brand continued to establish itself in apparel under Gap. Its full-fledged entry into fragrance came in the 1990s. One of the early perfumes, Classic, was a unisex scent created by Jean-Claude Delville and continues to be sold as one of the brand’s signature fragrances.

Fragrance production is said to have initially been handled within Gap. In July 2005, Gap signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Inter Parfums, Inc., which thereafter took responsibility for product development, formulation and manufacturing. The arrangement was renewed in 2008 as a four-year agreement that included international expansion, with a further agreement following in 2010.

What Matters to the Brand

A Philosophy of Accessible Luxury

Banana Republic’s aim in fragrance was to combine a sense of luxury with everyday wearability. Interparfums CEO Jean Madar said when the agreement with Gap was signed:

“Gap and Banana Republic are among the world’s best-known brands, with deep connections to their customers and extensive store networks. We will interpret and develop Banana Republic’s world of affordable luxury, quality within reach, through fragrance, bath & body and grooming products.”

— Jean Madar, Chairman and CEO of Interparfums

The Thinking Behind Bottle and Packaging Design

Banana Republic’s fragrance packaging reflects the aesthetic of clean lines and refined tailoring cultivated in its apparel. When the iconic fragrances Classic, W and M were relaunched in 2013, Creative Director Simon Kneen said:

“I was immediately inspired by the clean lines of our apparel collection and the crisp scents of the fragrances themselves.”

— Simon Kneen, Creative Director and Senior Vice President of Banana Republic

The relaunch used different colour schemes for each: Classic paired a paper-white square box with a black cap, W had an ivory cap, and M a charcoal cap. The design adopted the idea of a complementary yin-yang pairing.

For Republic of Women and Republic of Men, Studio RedEye’s project account states that David led the structural, or industrial, design of the bottles before founding the studio. The stated aim was “a timeless bottle that aligns with the brand’s minimalist sensibility while evoking quiet confidence and contemporary refinement.”

Collaborating with Renowned Perfumers

Banana Republic has actively worked with perfumers at the forefront of the fragrance industry. In discussing the Republic Collection, Creative Director Simon Kneen emphasized that it brought together “the best noses in the industry.”

Key perfumers who have worked with the brand include:

Jean-Claude Delville: Classic, W, M (1995), Wildblue, Wildbloom, Wildblue Noir and many others
Harry Fremont (Firmenich): Black Walnut and Republic of Women
Laurent Le Guernec (IFF): Republic of Men
Beatrice Piquet (IFF): Jade
Pascal Gaurin (IFF): Rosewood
Jean Marc Chaillan (IFF): Slate
Jean-Claude Delville (while at Drom): Wildblue Noir
Ilias Ermenidis: Wildbloom Vert
Gino Percontino: BR78: Vintage Green

The Fragrance Lineup

Banana Republic’s fragrances can be broadly organized by the following periods and collections.

The 1990s: The Early Years of the Fragrance Business

Three perfumes introduced in the 1990s represent the early period: Classic, W and M. Classic is a unisex citrus-aromatic fragrance built around grapefruit, clementine, honeysuckle and ginger. This clean-smelling scent remains on sale as a brand signature. M, a men’s fragrance introduced in 1995, was described in the official 2013 presentation as opening with lime, bergamot and green leaves, moving through lavender, sage and violet leaf, and finishing with white musk, tonka bean and sandalwood. It was named a runner-up at the 1996 FiFi Awards. The FiFi Awards are among the fragrance industry’s most prestigious honours and are sometimes called the “Oscars of perfume.”

2006: The Birth of the Discover Collection

In summer 2006, shortly after the partnership between Gap and Interparfums began, five fragrances were released together as the Discover Collection: three for women and two for men.

Alabaster: A clean floral of lotus, wild rose and musk
Jade: A fruity-floral centred on passion fruit and pomegranate
Rosewood: A warm floral-oriental of bergamot, white tea and white amber
Black Walnut: An aromatic-woody fragrance for men
Slate: A fresh-aromatic fragrance for men, with glacier citrus and water silver sage

The three women’s fragrances in the collection, Alabaster, Jade and Rosewood, were all selected as finalists in the Women’s Private Label/Direct Sell category at the 2007 FiFi Awards, while Black Walnut won the men’s category that year.

Cordovan, a men’s fragrance, followed in 2007. Combining fig leaf, nutmeg, leather, bergamot, lavender, iris, vetiver and juniper, this woody-aromatic scent has a loyal following for its spicy, dark appeal.

2009: The Republic Collection

In autumn 2009, Banana Republic introduced the Republic Collection, carrying the brand’s identity in its name.

Republic of Women: A green, fruity-floral by Harry Fremont. Top notes of blackcurrant, osmanthus and lychee lead to peony, pink jasmine and Moroccan rose at the heart, with a base of musk and precious woods
Republic of Men: A woody chypre by Laurent Le Guernec. Clementine, plum and fig leaf at the top lead to rosemary, basil and sage at the heart, over sandalwood, cedar and creamy musk

Creative Director Simon Kneen described the pair as “contemporary yet timeless, bringing fresh florals together with classic musk and deep woods.” Republic of Men Essence won the Men’s Specialty Brand category at the 2011 FiFi Awards.

2011–2013: The Wildbloom and Wildblue Series

In 2011, Jean-Claude Delville’s Wildbloom was introduced for women. A fruity opening of guava, pear, kumquat and grapefruit leads to a floral heart of wild camellia, blue orchid and water hydrangea, followed by a base of patchouli, sandalwood, tonka bean, oud and pink suede.

Wildblue followed for men in 2012. Simon Kneen explained that it was inspired by “the optimism of America’s beautiful blue skies.”

In 2013, the flankers Wildbloom Rouge and Wildblue Noir were added to the two lines. Wildblue Noir was composed by Jean-Claude Delville at Drom: a deep aromatic-woody fragrance inspired by “the dark side of ocean waves crashing beneath the night sky.”

2017: The Icon Collection

In May 2017, thirty-nine years after the brand’s founding, Banana Republic launched the ambitious Icon Collection, a journey through important moments in its past told through fragrance. All five scents are unisex, with years used as their identifying numbers:

BR78: Vintage Green: Commemorates the founding year of 1978. Bergamot, leafy greens, mandarin, magnolia, jasmine green tea, fig, cedarwood, musk and vetiver
BR83: Leather Reserve: The year of the sale to Gap, 1983. Cypress, lemon zest, bergamot, neroli, cedarwood, tonka bean, suede and amber
BR90: Pure White: Evokes a milestone in the 1990s. Green tea, bergamot, grapefruit, jasmine, lavender and amber
BR06: Black Platinum: Recalls 2006, the year the Discover Collection was born. Pink pepper, oakmoss, amber, patchouli and leather
BR17: Oud Mosaic: Embodies the global spirit of its launch year, 2017. White pepper, cardamom, plum, Turkish rose, saffron, oud and amber

At launch, individual 75 ml bottles sold for $48 each and 15 ml sprays for $25 each. A discovery set of all five fragrances in 5 ml sizes was also offered.

By the Way…

After leaving the brand around 1988, Banana Republic founders Mel and Patricia Ziegler became deeply involved with Zen and Buddhist thought. Mel attended a ten-day silent meditation retreat led by Jack Kornfield, where giving up coffee sparked an interest in tea. This eventually led to the creation of another brand, The Republic of Tea. Banana Republic, The Republic of Tea: their attachment to the word “republic” is intriguing, seeming to symbolize the couple’s entrepreneurial spirit.

Jean-Claude Delville also played a central role in Banana Republic fragrance development for roughly twenty years, from the early Classic in the 1990s through Wildblue Noir in 2013. He created Classic while at IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances) and continued working with Banana Republic after moving to Drom, an unusually long-lasting partnership.

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