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NEW YORK — <\/span>Doris Fisher, who co-founded the iconic clothing chain The Gap Inc. in 1969 with her late husband Don, has died. She was 94.<\/p>\n Fisher died on Saturday surrounded by her family, a Gap spokesperson confirmed on Monday. The San Francisco-based company did not specify a cause of death.<\/p>\n The couple co-founded The Gap after a frustrating shopping experience when Don Fisher couldn\u2019t find a pair of jeans that fit, according to the retailer. The Fishers opened one small store on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco. Initially men\u2019s Levi\u2019s jeans and record tapes were the only items for sale. But the brand became the foundation for a global retail empire and reshaped American fashion with a focus on simple casual looks from khakis and jeans to T-shirts and sweater sets.<\/p>\n The chain eventually expanded to other nameplates \u2014 Banana Republic and Old Navy \u2014 and now generates more than $15 billion in sales globally.<\/p>\n Fisher was the company\u2019s fashion merchandiser for nearly four decades, while her husband focused on the business side. The company said that she came up with the company\u2019s name, specifically to bridge the \u201cgeneration gap\u201d between parents and children. Don Fisher died in 2009.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is simply no\u202fequal\u202fto Doris Fisher,\u201d Gap’s CEO and President Richard Dickson said in a statement issued Monday. \u201cIn Gap-speak, she was\u202fa true\u202foriginal. Doris was a full partner in Gap Inc.\u2019s founding and a path-breaking entrepreneur at a time when that was highly unusual for women. She understood firsthand the value of self-expression, diversity, and inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n Dickson, who has been spearheading a turnaround after several years of a sales malaise, also said that Doris Fisher \u201cworked tirelessly to ensure that Gap Inc. always did more than sell clothes.\u201d Gap hired Dickson in July 2023. <\/a><\/p>\n Gap noted that Doris Fisher\u2019s influence extended beyond merchandising and store design. She helped shape the cultural tone of Gap advertising and product development, while maintaining a \u201csteadfast\u201d presence in the company\u2019s expansion and pushing the company to focus on the customer’s needs. Gap went public in 1976.<\/p>\n The Fishers also were involved in philanthropic endeavors. The couple amassed one of the largest private collections of modern and contemporary art in the country, Gap said. In 2009, the family pledged more than 1,100 works to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, one of the largest gifts of its kind. <\/p>\n Doris Fisher was also an advocate of educational opportunities for disadvantaged students. She served on the board of Knowledge Is Power Program, known as KIPP, a network of high-performing charter schools aimed at creating opportunity for underserved students. <\/p>\n Born in San Francisco in 1931, Doris Feigenbaum grew up in a family \u201csteeped in values of enterprise, culture, and community service,\u201d according to Gap. She graduated from Stanford University in 1953, where she studied economics.<\/p>\n She is survived by her three sons \u2014 Robert, William, and John \u2014 all of whom have carried forward the family\u2019s business and philanthropic commitments with San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, KIPP, Stanford University, The Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco, the San Francisco Symphony, and The Gap Foundation.<\/p>\n She is also survived by 10 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren, the company said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n