The Banana Republic Holiday 2022 Campaign is terrific, as are the images by Richard Phibbs [IG]. I see the Polo vibe here, but it feels like sound ground Banana is standing on.

Note that as recently as August 2022, Fast Company was asking if Banana Republic will ultimately be forced to change its name. This question comes within a larger America’s public school’s movement whereby students, parents and some civic leaders argue they shouldn’t have to go to a school named after presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

AOC does not support the eradication of all references to America’s past, because our past is very complicated.

Moving to the Eye of the Storm

Moving to Virginia post-Charlottesville, I became part of an arts marketing program that ended up situating me in a lovely home on reclaimed land from an old Ford factory. My community is majority people of color in Virginia, and it has been such a positive experience.

Note that I tend to live in these communities, and this one is not a first. But it was a deliberate decision this time — to be close to the arrival of the first slave ships in America.

In one of those moments of serendipity, I was out for a walk, took a virgin turn and saw a plaque informing me that the land under my apartment was once a Confederate hospital and convalescent home.

Given my personal skills and beliefs in universal energies among humans, animals, plants — our total biosphere — I was shocked to learn that beneath me are buried the memories, the beliefs, the anger, the wounds, suffering and loyalty to another country not my own of Confederate soldiers.

My plaque and history of the land was easily confirmed with immediate Google research.

The cast of the Banana Republic campaign includes Cherokee Jack, Chinchin Hsu, Louise de Chevigny, Nya Gatbel and Ryan Porter and the campaign was shot in Iceland.

Many in the cast have worked on other Banana Republic campaigns this year.

Close Creatives Can Make the Best Advisers

All my instincts tell me that this ensemble is perfect for Banana Republic. I can’t speak for photographer Richard Phibbs but was reading quite a lot about him yesterday.

I’ve always felt that Phibbs has a deep understanding of global humanity and the human experience, and he could as easily be a brand consultant as a superb photographer.

If the folks at Banana have never talked with Phibbs about the Banana Republic heritage, they could. It seems that every time Richard Phibbs and Cherokee Jack get together, my inner voice refuses to stand down.

In fact, it’s possible that I write personally on Phibbs’ work more than any other photographer. In an early collaboration between Richard and Cherokee Jack, I really lost it internally and wrote: Cherokee Jack by Richard Phibbs for Man of Metropolis | Minnesota History of Mankato Hangings

I sense intuitively that Cherokee Jack also has the capacity and understanding to speak to these topics as a young voice with ancient eyes. His people understand the history of America as well as any slave families tilling this land.

My point is that for me, Banana Republic is on the right track, and if they have ambivalence or feel a bit defensive about the name — because social media can be irrationally viscious — Banana can speak to creatives like these models and Phibbs — and bring in Simone Biles from another GAP division of Athleta.

It’s a more organic process because these professionals are already aligned with GAP and Banana Republic, and their own values are well-articulated. They are living real, so to speak. These are not superficial, marketing billboards individuals.

Atonement doesn’t mean self-destruction. I don’t seriously believe that Nelson Mandela or Bishop Tutu would say that Banana Republic should change their name. Both spiritual leaders believed in redemption.

Rather Banana has an opportunity to strike deep chords as a responsible steward of 21st century brand values,

Banana Republic on Sustainability

On a related subject, I did review the Banana Republic website. Specifically, my focus was sustainability information and the brand’s goals in respecting the environment.

You can read parent company GAP’s position and benchmarks for progress here.