Hailey Bieber is putting her considerable fashion influence behind one of denim's most divisive silhouettes, launching a limited-edition Gap collection that includes a pair of Nineties-inspired low-rise jeans. The model and Rhode beauty founder's capsule, titled The Hailey Jean, will arrive online and in selected stores on 16 July 2026, potentially pushing the controversial cut further back into mainstream wardrobes.
The collection includes the '90s Low-Rise Loose Jean and the Extra Baggy Jean, each offered in three washes and priced at US$89. Gap said the styles were based on vintage pairs Bieber already wears, blending her relaxed off-duty uniform with the American retailer's late-Nineties denim archive.
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Low-rise jeans have been edging back into fashion through the wider Y2K revival, but the style remains polarising among shoppers who remember the ultra-low waistbands that dominated the early 2000s. Unlike the high-waisted denim that became a wardrobe staple during the 2010s, low-rise cuts sit closer to the hips and expose more of the midriff, making their return one of fashion's most debated nostalgia cycles.
Bieber's version is described as loose rather than skin-tight, giving the throwback silhouette a slouchier, more contemporary shape. Gap's existing Low Rise '90s Loose Jeans have a nine-inch rise, a relaxed fit through the hips and thighs and a straight leg that falls below the ankle. The Hailey Jean edition, however, uses rigid 100 per cent cotton denim intended to soften and mould to the wearer over time.
'Gap has been a part of my wardrobe since I was a kid, so this came together very organically', Bieber said. '1996 was the year I was born and I get a lot of style inspiration from the '90s because there was something so effortless about that era and the way people wore denim.'
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The capsule includes several personal references to Bieber, including '1996' details on the hardware and back patches and her signature printed inside the pocket lining. The Extra Baggy Jean was inspired by a men's Gap style that Bieber previously wore, while the low-rise option draws from the relaxed denim frequently seen in her street-style looks and social media posts.
Both fits appear in a campaign photographed by Mario Sorrenti and styled by fashion consultant Alastair McKimm. The accompanying film, directed by Charlie Di Placido, recreates the mood of 1996 and uses The Cranberries' 'Linger' as its soundtrack. Bieber models the jeans with pared-back Gap T-shirts, reinforcing the stripped-down Nineties styling behind the capsule.
Jane Pattinson, Gap's senior vice-president and global head of design, said Bieber had an instinctive understanding of 'proportion and fit' and how denim moves on the body. 'Together, we built the collection around the relaxed silhouettes she naturally gravitates toward and the effortless way she styles them in her everyday wardrobe', Pattinson said.
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Bieber has repeatedly worn Gap's standard Low Rise '90s Loose Jeans, helping turn the affordable pair into a recognisable part of her off-duty wardrobe. Her capsule now formalises that relationship and gives shoppers versions adjusted to her preferred proportions, washes and rigid fabrication.
The collection launches on Gap's website at 9am Eastern Time on 16 July, with selected styles available across North American stores. It will also be sold in the UK, China, Japan and other selected international markets, although the Low-Rise Loose Jean will be available exclusively online.
Whether shoppers fully embrace the lower waistband remains unclear, but Bieber's involvement gives the style one of its biggest celebrity endorsements yet. After helping popularise glazed skin, minimalist tailoring and oversized outerwear, the Rhode founder is now testing whether her influence can make low-rise denim feel less like an unwanted relic and more like the next major jeans comeback.
