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Zara unveiled its first seasonal collection by John Galliano, with a pop-up exhibit in Paris and store space in London and Madrid on Thursday, as well as online globally.
The rollout of the collection, dubbed Re(form) vol. 1, tests the public’s appetite for the couturier’s designs. It comes just weeks after the Metropolitan Museum in New York pulled the plug on plans for a retrospective on Galliano’s work amid a backlash over his history of antisemitic remarks.
In Paris, the retailer took over a historic mansion in the trendy Marais district, holding appointments for industry press in town for fashion week. Visitors wound their way through a succession of elaborate displays that included the designer’s own memorabilia (items such as an embroidered, bicorne hat and a Napoleon figure under glass), as well as sketches illustrating Galliano’s creative process. The new designs draw on archival styles from Zara that the designer rearranged through couture technique — that were then newly produced.
A photo campaign by Steven Meisel was also on display, featuring models with teased out hair and blue lipstick in sheer dresses with wispy, ruffled trims as well as glossy skintight trousers in bright red and fur-trimmed coats. Prices range from just under €20 ($22) for scarves to over €700 for the most elaborate gowns.
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At Zara’s recently refurbished London flagship, dozens of shoppers queued up to get first access to the collection before the store opened. Galliano’s designs were tucked away in the back of the store, displayed on a wooden set painted in white and a grey green. Some customers waited an hour and a half to get wristbands granting access to the space.
“I’m here for Galliano, not Zara. Through this collection we can get a taste of his design style with clothes that are actually affordable,” said Regina Xu, 28, a Shanghai based luxury fashion marketer who bought a black dress and a coat for herself as well as a dress for a friend in China. She said she found the clothing better quality than she had expected from Zara.
Zara’s tie-up with Galliano, announced in March, is part of the retailer’s strategy to move upmarket as it grapples with the rise of ultra-fast fashion platforms like Shein and Temu, which have grabbed a share of spend from younger shoppers with tighter budgets. So far, it seems to be paying off. Zara-owner Inditex has continued to enjoy robust sales growth, despite a broader market malaise.
But the Galliano collaboration is not without risk. High-low fashion tie ups are now old hat and while Galliano’s fashion credentials are impeccable, he comes with baggage. Though it’s been fifteen years since an anti-semitic rant caught on video got the designer sacked from his role as creative director of Dior, the Met’s plan to host a retrospective of the former Dior and Maison Margiela designer’s work drew sharp criticism. A Galliano retrospective had long been an objective of Vogue’s global editorial director Anna Wintour, who co-chairs the annual Met Gala benefit that funds much of the Costume Institute’s operations. But Galliano ultimately withdrew from the project in August.
Whether this matters to shoppers remains to be seen. For some in London, the fashion was more important than any history.
“It’s not about the name — it’s about the design,” said Branco Diaz, 34, a London-based retail associate, who bought several pairs of trousers, a black coat and crystal embellished top. “It’s great because it’s unusual.. and still has its own signature. It doesn’t feel like fast fashion, the concept is much more sophisticated.”
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John Galliano Met Retrospective Cancelled
The designer withdrew from the exhibition, planned in his honour, amid mounting backlash over antisemitic remarks. ‘I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time,’ Galliano said in a statement.
