Photographer / Art Director: Szilveszter Makó @szilvesztermako
Last week, Zara, the Spanish fast-fashion brand, dropped a bombshell: they had inked a “two-year creative partnership” with the famed designer and couturier John Galliano. Galliano would now be in charge of re-envisioning the brand’s archives, “deconstructing and reconfiguring” pieces through “a series of seasonal collections” twice a year, starting in September. Naturally, longtime fashion aficionados and insiders balked at the press release.
Galliano’s new “temporary residence” at the brand marks his first foray back on the fashion map after departing as the Creative Director at Maison Margiela in 2024; before that, the designer conjured a legacy at Dior (before he was fired in 2011 after going on an anti-Semitic tirade). Considering his highly regarded resumé, Galliano’s sudden mass-market pivot to Zara was a shock.
Zara has attracted one-off collaborations with fashion’s top talents for years, but its deal with Galliano is a first. Lately, it’s become a growing trend in the industry for top-shelf designers to jump ship for positions at major retailers. In 2024, Uniqlo poached Creative Director Clare Waight Keller from Givenchy; that same year, Zac Posen joined Gap as Executive Vice President and Creative Director; in 2025, Jonathan Saunders left Diane von Furstenberg to become Chief Creative Officer of & Other Stories, a subsidiary of H&M. What’s the reason behind the shift?
Part of it could be rehabilitation. With how polarizing fast fashion has become, mass-market brands — including the aforementioned labels — understandably are wanting to shed the skins of their reputations and distinguish themselves from the likes of ultra-fast fashion chains such as Shein and Temu. Zara, specifically, has long been trying to distance itself from controversy, though its sustainability and labor practices are always pulled into question. But by affiliating themselves with bigger names, Zara is inching closer to the rebrand it desperately craves: In February, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny wore a custom Zara outfit for what is now the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show in history; and recently, Zara announced a new capsule collection with Mexican-American designer Willy Chavarria, aptly titled VATÍSIMO, inspired by his Chicano heritage.
On the other hand, Gap and Uniqlo haven’t faced the same scrutiny around their repositionings which, in fact, seem to be working as intended. Gap's public image is at an all-time high — I see nothing but heart-eye emojis flooding the comment sections under their ultra-viral ads with girl group KATSEYE and Puerto Rican musician Young Miko.
Ironically, I’ve noticed that this fast-fashion switchup seems to mirror the celebrity-to-designer pipeline that’s been simultaneously emerging. As designer brands recruit A-listers to help promote and boost their image, mass-market labels are seemingly doing the same with high-fashion designers. All these changes might feel sacrilegious to those who value quality control and craftsmanship and the ethics of “preventing an exuberant amount of waste,” but these concerns are ultimately for the minority. With unemployment rates at record-highs, and wars raging on, the mid-market was always going to boom anyway, according to Vogue Business.
Given these trying times, it’s not far-fetched to assume that Galliano, as well as his peers, also jumped for a consistent check. For Galliano, the opportunity is also uncharted territory. “I’m super excited, because it’s not something I’ve done before, so that kind of tickles me—the newness, the excitement, the actual process,” he told Vogue about the partnership. “Even with my team, I have to keep reminding them daily: No, it’s not this, and it’s not that. We are re-authoring. It’s been quite fun, and I just think it’s a very positive thing to be doing at this time, and really sustainable from a creative point of view, which is super interesting to me.”
Still, I can’t shake the feeling that the lines between luxury and fast fashion are blurring a little too much for my liking. Gallino and Zara are likely setting a precedent for other multimillion-dollar brands to follow in their footsteps. Unfortunately, the reality is that everyone will want a piece sooner rather than later, no matter the cost or risk.