Clarice designs classic American sportswear for everyone.
Clarice began her career at Gap, after winning a design internship while a student at Parsons. Under the guidance of Mickey Drexler, she was part of a design corps credited with revitalizing the brand. The turnaround was chronicled in a cover story in The New York Times Styles Section (”Hot Colors Blooming in the Dust of Khakis,” August 27, 2000). After starting out in Gap Body, she soon graduated to the $1.3 billion Women's Knits division. Some of her best known designs included the Color Blocked Patchwork Tee and the Favorite Tee collection, which is still sold today.
She went on to be Gap's lead designer of Women’s Sweaters, responsible for all aspects of concept, style and stitch development. This role required travel to Hong Kong and intensive communication with sourcing agents and vendors. Her sweater designs included the trailblazing Super Chunky Carcoat and Cozy Cabled Cardigans. Her reinvention of Gap's Crazy Stripe as a sweater and scarf was also a huge hit, and has resurfaced twice
Her creations for the Gap were featured in numerous editorial layouts as well as national print and TV campaigns, directed by the likes of Michel Gondry and featuring trendsetting celebrities such as Madonna, Scarlett Johansson, Erykah Badu, India Arie, Sheryl Crowe and Jennifer Garner.
In 2002, she joined Oshkosh, where she was part of a small team that created and launched the Genuinekids brand, an interpretation of Oshkosh B’Gosh for the fashion savvy Target customer.
As Design Director for Boys, she oversaw all aspects of design and development of Genuinekids and Genuinebaby Boys, growing the division from its inception in 2003 to a $87 million annual business. She also played a key role in shaping the overall GK brand image, overseeing the design of hang tags, hardware, tagless branding and marketing materials.
Each season, she presented concept to the heads of Merchandising and Design at Target. And as the brand's trend-spotter, she shopped in Europe, Asia and the West Coast twice per year. She also oversaw the launch of Core Denim for both Boys and Girls, which generated more than $40 million annually, and spearheaded brand extensions such as outerwear and accessories, which elevated the brand and added $10 million in sales annually.
In 2012 Clarice accepted an opportunity to consult for Minnie Rose, a women's contemporary brand best known for cashmere and cotton tops and accessories. In addition to designing knitwear, she helped expand the brand's offerings into other categories such as wovens, cut & sew and accessories, as well as collaborating with the founder on styling seasonal photo shoots and trade booth design.
In 2015, Clarice joined the design team at maurices, the Minnesota-based women's apparel brand, as sweaters and knits lead. Under Clarice’s leadership, the sweater division increased its direct vendor penetration from 38-75% using co-creation development strategies to leverage unique vendor innovation skills.
In 2017, due to unexpected family necessity, Clarice relaunched her consulting business and began working remotely to service the needs of multiple clients including Banana Republic, 525 America, Amazon and Isaac Mizrahi, to name a few. During this time, Covid brought its own challenges. The ability to conceive, develop and produce high quality clothing without ever touching it is nothing short of miraculous. It continues to be a thrill to find new ways of participating in the age-old craft of making fashion!
Education
Parsons the New School for Design, BFA, Fashion Design, 1998
Accolades
Designer of The Year (Parsons), Finalist
Golden Thimble Award from Maryann Restivo
Gap, Inc. Scholarship Award and Internship, Women’s Division
Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Scholarship Award
Lord & Taylor Scholarship Award “American Dress Address,” 1st Place
The Wellman Group Apprenticeship, “Eco-Spun” runway collaboration with Amsale Aberra, featured at Seventh on Sixth
Skills
Team building and Management, Strategic Partnerships, Process Development
Product development: Concept, sketch, Spec/Fit, Raw Materials R&D
Adobe Suite, PDM, PLM, KaratCad, Microsoft Office
Contact
clarice.lappe@gmail.com