Express launched its fall campaign, "Too Easy to Look This Good," featuring musician Tinashe and NFL player Tee Higgins. The name comes from a lyric in Tinashe's single "Too Easy," which also soundtracks the ad.
A 30-second hero video features Tinashe DJing a pool party where Higgins is hanging out. She leaves the turntables to try on different outfits and hits the dance floor at the John Lautner-designed Goldstein House in Beverly Hills. Colin Tilley directed, JaQuel Knight choreographed, and London Alley produced.
"Fashion has always been a huge part of my creative expression and is deeply connected to my music," Tinashe said. "'Too Easy' is a song about confidence and fully owning who you are."
Express has been rebuilding since filing for Chapter 11 in April 2024. Later that year, the retailer and its Bonobos subsidiary were bought out of bankruptcy by Phoenix Retail, a joint venture of Simon Property Group, Brookfield Properties, Centennial and WHP Global. CMO Joe Berean, with the company since 2019 and appointed in March 2026, said the campaign "reflects where we are as a brand, how we're investing in the brand… and how to leverage our 'Dress to Express' platform to differentiate ourselves and effectively rebuild the brand's heat."
The fall collection reinterprets late-1990s and early-2000s style, including a Hyper Stretch Bootcut Jean for women and a Y2K Wash Jean for men. "Y2K, 1990s nostalgia is certainly having a moment, and that's not something that's lost on us, especially as a brand that really was a big part of that era," Berean said.
Extension runs through The Expressionists, the brand's social-first community launched in February and made up of creators, associates and brand ambassadors. Previous creator work featured Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz Beckham, Hart Denton and Elysée Sanvillé, and soccer player Walker Zimmerman. "We've had everything from nano-creators to mega celebrities representing this idea of sharing their style," Berean said.
The campaign spans streaming video, digital, social, print, in-store and online, with a denim focus later this month.
Nostalgia campaigns are common; what distinguishes this one is that the music video format itself is the spine of the media plan. Rather than addressing the bankruptcy narrative directly, Express borrowed the cultural form from its strongest era and attached it to current product. For a comparable move, see Why FX Rebuilt a Mall in 1980s Form.
From a lyric in Tinashe's single "Too Easy," which is also used as the ad's soundtrack.
It filed for Chapter 11 in April 2024 and was acquired out of bankruptcy, with Bonobos, by Phoenix Retail — a joint venture of Simon Property Group, Brookfield Properties, Centennial and WHP Global.
A social-first brand community launched in February, made up of creators, associates and brand ambassadors, used to extend campaigns.
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