No one could have foreseen this. The one and only John Galliano now signs for two years with Zara, the Inditex giant, to ‘re-author’ the brand’s ‘archives’ for seasonal collections, with the first drop arriving in September. This has come as a total surprise for many, especially after this two-year gap since the British couturier stepped out of Maison Margiela, with his last collection turning the internet upside down. The speculations were everywhere: was he going back to Dior? Maybe Givenchy? Or Alaïa? As new creative directors were announced for all these Houses, it seemed like there wasn’t a vacant spot for Galliano. Now, the wait is over, and it’s radically different from what everyone speculated.
It’s hard to wrap your head around the idea that Galliano is about to do fast fashion. He’s known for being the last true couturier; he’s a master craftsman, has perfected theatricality and extravaganza, and his trailblazing vision has defined the fashion industry over the last three decades. So his appointment at Zara could either succeed brilliantly or end catastrophically. But depending on how they approach this opportunity, this could be a turning point for everyone.
We must keep in mind that lately, Zara has started doing collaborations with big names, the latest being Ludovic de Saint Sernin dropping a capsule collection, and with Alex Consani and Amelia Gray as the main stars for the campaign. But this shift has been in the works for a while. Samuel Ross has been designing at Zara for a few years and is set to step aside in Fall/Winter of 2026. Stefano Pilati is also one of the legends that passed by the Spanish brand in 2024, with a legacy that runs through Saint Laurent and Zegna.
At the same time, the fifty-year anniversary of Zara (50 Years, 50 Icons) included no less than legends like Steven Meisel, Anna Sui, and Pierpaolo Piccioli. Many supermodels such as Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, and Mariacarla Boscono have fronted several campaigns for the brand as well.
So the move is clear: Zara is aligning mass-market reach with high-fashion credibility. This comes as a form of differentiation from other retailers. With consumers tired of plain, trend-driven clothes, the need for authenticity and creative legitimacy in a crowded market is what will really make a difference now. Especially when other fast fashion brands, especially Shein, are beating Inditex in terms of (unsustainable) production.
The best way to approach this new era is without expectations. We can’t anticipate the theatricality and drama of Galliano’s years at Dior, Maison Margiela, and his namesake brand. Instead, we perhaps should think of previous examples, like the successful partnership between H&M and luxury brands like Balmain, Versace, and Karl Lagerfeld. The real question is: will these two worlds collide, or fuse into something extraordinary? Only Galliano and Marta Ortega know.