Touring the remodeled Gap flagship store in Manhattan’s Flatiron District during an interview for Fortune’s Behind the Business video series, Dickson paused beneath framed photographs by Annie Leibovitz and Bruce Weber showing Debbie Harry, Willie Nelson, and Lauren Hutton sporting Gap’s classic American casualwear. Nearby are huge photos of Hailey Bieber, a “Gap girl” of today, promoting her new denim line with the brand.

The juxtaposition illustrates the strategy that Dickson—who became CEO in 2023 after a tumultuous stretch in which Gap Inc. cycled through five CEOs in five years—is pursuing. He’s trying to reconnect the company’s namesake chain with the cultural conversation. That’s why he brought in the designer Zac Posen as Gap Inc.’s creative director and Old Navy’s chief creative officer, invested in celebrity collaborations, and leaned into the company’s history.

“We had great storytelling and brands, but somewhere along the way, we lost the story and became more about the stuff,” Dickson told me. “Cultural connection and relevance actually are a fundamental part of brand management.”

The early results are encouraging. Gap comparable sales rose 10% in the first quarter, extending a two-year streak of growth. Its “Better in Denim” campaign with global girl group Katseye generated a viral Busby Berkeley-style dance number that has been viewed 80 million times, while a limited-edition hoodie collaboration sold briskly. Victoria Beckham, Malcolm Todd, and Inde Navarrette have also joined the effort, while Old Navy is working with Cardi B on denim.

But cultural heat is not the same thing as a successful turnaround. Many apparel retailers have seen sales growth this year, but some of that is thanks to broader inflation. The real test is whether Gap can raise prices because people want its t-shirts and jeans enough to pay more for them. Gap Inc. shares are down 20% this year, and the company’s revival is still, as Guggenheim analyst Simeon Siegel put it, a “show-me” story. “What is the purpose of cultural relevance?” Siegel asked. “It should be to drive revenues, and also drive prices.”

That’s the takeaway, so far, to glean from Gap’s effort. A legacy brand’s past can be an asset, but only if it supplies a credible bridge to the present. Dickson learned that at Mattel, where his work reviving Barbie helped lay the groundwork for the megahit film based on the doll. 

At Mattel, cultural relevance came with a blockbuster ending. At Gap, the sequel is still in production.

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

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Today's edition of CEO Daily is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Nicholas Gordon, and Lee Clifford.