Seasoned entertainment executive Pam Kaufman had just started at Gap Inc. when two former colleagues told her she needed to meet with music producer and songwriter Freddy Wexler. During a FaceTime call, Wexler explained that he had just formed a new boy band. Did Gap want in on the ground floor?

Gap did.

Now the company that made casual dressing cool in the '90s is riding shotgun on another '90s trend: the American boy band. Gap is partnering with Just Your Type, known as JYT. The band's five members are embarking on a music tour performing at malls and will do meet-and-greets in Gap stores. Gap will co-produce a docuseries on the band's creation. And it is launching a clothing collection codesigned by the five band members.

"The brands that are winning today are impossible to ignore because they've embedded themselves into stories that people care about," said Kaufman, now seven months into her job as Gap Inc.'s chief entertainment officer.

The partnership is the first in a series of initiatives that are expected to take the company's brands-which also include Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta-beyond selling apparel and cement them more deeply in popular culture.

Gap Inc. Chief Executive Richard Dickson calls the strategy "fashiontainment." He used a similar playbook in his prior role at Mattel, where he reinvigorated toy brands, including Barbie. To make the doll relevant again, there were life-size Barbie Dream Houses, models sashaying down runways in Barbie clothes at Fashion Week, and, of course, the 2023 "Barbie" movie.

Since Dickson took the helm in August 2023, Gap Inc.'s profits are up and so is the stock-climbing 80% on his watch. The JYT tie-up comes as the Gap brand in particular is undergoing a revival. Sales, excluding newly opened or closed locations, were up 10% in the most recent quarter.

The brand has been adding and expanding categories, including a line of handbags and fragrances-part of Dickson's strategy to layer on what he calls "accelerators"-new businesses that will drive more growth.

He has plucked talent from the worlds of fashion, entertainment and business to turn his vision into reality. The designer Zac Posen creates red-carpet looks under a separate label called Gap Studio, and serves as Gap Inc.'s creative director and Old Navy's chief creative officer. Reed Krakoff, who turned Coach into a household name, was hired last year as executive director of accessories and created the new handbag line. John Demsey, who spent years at Estée Lauder, was tapped as executive director of beauty.

Gap isn't the only retailer itching to move beyond its core. There are Bvlgari hotels, Ralph Lauren coffee shops and Tommy Bahama restaurants. Louis Vuitton has added chocolate shops inside some stores. RH, the former Restoration Hardware, has a yacht available for charter.

What Gap Inc. is proposing is more wide ranging-and comes with more risks.

Dickson envisions an array of potential partnerships with automotive, gaming, entertainment and consumer-products companies as well as music, movies and sporting events. Stores could be turned into stages for big moments like the World Cup. There could be a line of Banana Republic home furnishings or Gap-branded toys.

The potential downside: Brands have driven down their value by licensing their names too widely. Perhaps the most famous case is the designer Pierre Cardin, who slapped his name on everything from cigarettes to bicycles with disastrous results. Lululemon Athletica puzzled customers and investors by selling Mickey Mouse sweatshirts, part of a partnership with Disney.

Kaufman previously worked at Nickelodeon, Viacom and Paramount in roles that included marketing, franchise development and strategic partnerships. She helped expand properties ranging from "SpongeBob SquarePants" to "Yellowstone."

Grammy-nominated Wexler, who has co-written songs for Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and other musicians, formed JYT last year. In December, the band signed with Republic Records and released its first single, "What U Want."

In one sense, the partnership takes Gap back to its music roots. It originally sold Levi jeans and records when it was founded in 1969. One of the names the husband-and-wife founders, Don and Doris Fisher, considered for their new venture was Pants and Discs.

Over the years, music and dancing have figured prominently in Gap's advertising, whether it was models in khaki pants dancing to swing or performances by Madonna, Missy Elliott, LL Cool J and Aerosmith. JYT is far more obscure. The nascent band has just 2 million followers across all its social platforms. It spent the past few months touring summer camps to introduce itself to children.