Jack Innanen Talks Banana Republic Miniseries & Being Anti Cruise Ship

Jack Innanen is in the serious business of doing not-so-serious things. His off-kilter sense of humor led him from being a TikTok star to the lead in several hit comedy series, and throughout it all, his fashion has also been a starring participant. It’s natural, then, that Banana Republic tapped him for a series-based campaign, “The Agency,” in which he stars as four different travel agents working in an antiquated office in dire need of modernization. It’s a full-circle moment for the funny guy, as he tells NYLON: “That’s how I feel I’ve entered this world: I made dumb, stupid sh*t, and then it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m working on this project right now, and we’re going through and referencing my old spam account videos.’”

The Banana Republic classics come to life with Innanen’s four characters: Dean, the adventurer in Archive Reissue collection pieces like a fishing vest; Roland, the fake French guy with swag for days in a leather jacket that Innanen say is his favorite piece; Barry, the douchey cruise-ship leader who has an all-American prep energy; and Howard, the senior manager who can’t seem to keep it all together. Taylor Ortega, Innanen’s co-star in Big Mistakes, stars as the corporate exec tasked with bringing Tours & Travels into the 21st century, and comedian Milo Tucker-Meyer rounds it out as the deadbeat intern. It’s not only the funniest fashion campaign of the year, but it genuinely serves the clothes to show them off this uniquely and, as Innanen says, “I think the future of a lot of online campaigns has been, is going to be, and will continue to be fun narratives.”

Innanen is one of our most fly guys of 2026 for a reason: He just looks damn good in clothes. He tells us that he’s secured most of the pieces from the series, which is debuting weekly. The first two episodes are up now, with three more slated for release Oct. 22, Oct. 29, and Nov. 5 (the finale). It’s a journey through clothing and also a journey through the way individuality helps the pieces shine, from Roland’s Euro-lite sensibility in luxe fabrications to Howard’s office-geek style in no-nonsense classics. Throughout it all, the fashion is a main character, and I for one cannot wait to see how this series ends.

In between shooting Big Mistakes and releasing the second season of Adults, Innanen dialed in with NYLON to discuss his personal style, his travel woes (ever the Canadian, he apologized constantly for going on a rant), and his aversion to cruises.

I would love to hear about how this came to you and being a little more behind the scenes with it in terms of the creative.

It was so fun. It was presented to me to do a campaign, then when we got into what they were thinking of doing, I got so excited. I had so many friends that I didn’t know were part of this writers room. I’m like, “Oh, what is this writers room and how do I get involved in it?” They were so incredible at making it something fun and involving me in the creative process to try to get it in my tone and play off of my TikTok sketches of playing multiple characters. What if that was a premise for the series itself? Their amazing writers really took that and ran with it. What a fun way to show some cool clothes and show brand personality in a narrative piece.

It definitely brings me back to your OG TikToks. Was there anything else you were thinking about in terms of inspiration?

We talked about The Office quite a bit. That workplace environment, but also spiking the camera and throwing those in every once in a while was really fun. There’s a bullpen with an absolute cast of characters who are all so different. Jeffrey [Scotti Schroeder] — the director — and I talked about when to do the camera spikes, and we called them “the Jim looks.”

What makes a narrative compelling for something short form like this, and how do you decide how to bring which story to which form?

I think it’s so fun that the barriers of that are breaking down, like, “Do you do social media, or are you an actor, or can you do…?” It feels blurred to the point of if you make something fun, people watch it. I think that’s what this was. Especially when there’s something where there’s other writers involved, when I hop on the Zoom and they’re authentically hilarious and it’s authentic to their voice, that always is the most appealing. If this person is really passionate about this, it isn’t a standard transactional brand deal. It was like, “Let’s make a fun show to showcase this brand.” I was like, “Hell yes.” That’s what I think the future of a lot of online campaigns have been, are going to be, and will continue to be: fun narratives.

I love that you had Taylor Ortega and you had Milo Tucker-Meyer, speaking of someone who’s on Instagram making the dumbest sh*t (in the most complimentary way possible). How was it shooting with them?

It was amazing. I was so, so happy we got Taylor because we’re still in the middle of shooting the second season of Big Mistakes. We have such a fun working relationship, and it’s fun in an environment like that to have a friend and someone who’s so talented and perfect. I thought of her immediately when that role came up, and she knew so many people working in the writing room. I believe her fiancé wrote on it as well, who’s a very talented writer.

Milo is so funny. He also wrote on it, and he’s just so funny and kept doing these improv bits. I love when people, like you said, are just making dumb, stupid sh*t and then that becomes a real product. It makes me so excited, because that’s how I feel I’ve entered this world: I made dumb, stupid sh*t, and then it’s like, “Oh, I’m working on this project right now and we’re going through and referencing my old spam account videos.” That’s crazy that this is what the reference for this character is. It makes me so excited because I’m like, “D*mn right, they might have paid off.”

Which one of your characters do you think most closely aligns with your personal style?

The one you haven’t met probably, but of the ones, I think a mix of Howard and... I think Howard, but also the French character was really fun. I got in the French character and I was like, “Oh, I’m this guy.” If I was Quebecois, if I was just born one province over in Canada, I would be him. That was such a brilliant idea to showcase the different aspects of their catalog and have different extremes. We brought out some archive pieces, which was really cool. They’re bringing back and selling these revamped archive pieces, like a vintage leather jacket. I got to try it on; it’s pretty sweet and a pretty brilliant way to showcase.

I liked Roland. He had swag for sure.

It’s the aura. I put in a toothpick, and I was like, “Oh, I’m French. Hold on.”

Is there any piece in particular that you wanted to take home with you?

We talked about it when we were done, I was like, “Can I take some stuff?” — I knew they gave me some credit — and I took the entire rack, literally every single piece. I have them all in a bag, and I’m wearing the pants right now. I’ve gone on two trips out of town. I was in Vermont, and I was in Paris, and I wore the full look of this one character. I’ve been obsessed with the shoes too. I took all of it and I’m wearing it tonight to a dinner as well.

How were your trips? Were they successful?

They were very successful, I think in part because I was dripped the hell down.

Have you had any recent bad travel experiences? I’m sure that this travel agency would not provide the best trip of your life.

No, I don’t think they would... Actually, I think Howard would get you there. They would really try their best. With Air France, I didn’t know that they can just not put your bag on the flight. I made the bag cutoff and checked in my bag. Then I arrived in Newark, I get down there, and my bag wasn’t there, and they’re like, “Oh, yeah, it’s on the next plane.” I was like, “Wait, this is on the next plane?” “Yeah, we didn’t put it on.” But another bag I checked made it. They just chose to put one bag.

My frustration also on the other side of that, sorry to go on a rant, is that I think I’m a pretty solution-based person. I have a little AirTag. I saw it’s in Paris. I’m in Newark, and I’m looking, and it’s in Paris. I’m like, “Cool, that’s the situation” I fill out the form, cool. There’s a guy next to me in the same situation, and he’s just berating this woman and refusing to do the form. I’m like, “That’s not helping anyone.”

If you could go anywhere in the world right now wearing your Banana Republic, where would you want to go?

Japan. I would be Banana head to toe in Japan. That’s the goal within six months. The leather jacket would go a long way there.

That’s a good plan. Linen or leather?

I’m going to go linen.

Denim or chinos?

Denim.

A cruise or a hiking trip?

Hiking. I love it.

Cruises are polarizing. What are your thoughts on cruises?

I don’t think I can do it... I’ve been on a cruise. It’s not for me because it feels like a casino hotel on the water. I’d like to just go to the place and be at the place. I don’t need the weird water-hotel situation.

I completely agree with you. Sort of the same thing as flying, I feel like cruises bring out a weird side of people.

Even if you’re on a bad flight, it’s, what, max 14 hours, and you’re off. If you’re on a cruise, you’re on this boat for a few days. You can’t get off. You actually can’t leave.