Uproar over Zara and Galliano: 'This is a power move from Inditex'

One day after the announcement that John Galliano is collaborating with Spanish retailer Zara, reactions from fashion professionals are flooding in. The fact that a fashion icon whose work has defined haute couture is now aligning with one of the world's largest fast fashion retailers has struck a nerve in the industry. What exactly is behind this?

From outrage to understanding

In a brief statement on Tuesday, Zara confirmed the two-year creative collaboration with Galliano. He will be allowed to delve into the brand's archives to deconstruct and revive garments from previous lines in a series of seasonal collections. The first will be released in September 2026.

According to luxury fashion expert Dr Hakan Karaosman, the deal is a “power move” by Inditex. The expert believes the company is trying to fill a gap in the market: products that offer consumers status at a reasonable price. On LinkedIn, he explains how this gap emerged: “Luxury brands are seeing a decline in impulse purchases because younger generations find luxury less and less relevant. They are beginning to realise that owning one or two luxury items does not automatically mean you belong to the elite. This is an illusion that brands have exploited for years through influencer marketing.” By purchasing a Zara coat by Galliano for a fraction of a salary instead of a whole one, you can still benefit from the brand name and the designer's creative identity.

Independent designer-consultant Silvia Pellegrino responds fiercely from Barcelona. “Zara is willing to pay Galliano for his name, but not enough. We talk so much about profit and strategy these days, forgetting that fashion is primarily about something more powerful. It is something you cannot control or capture in a spreadsheet: creativity, art.” She also questions Zara's own originality: “Is Zara perhaps so good with numbers because it creates nothing itself and copies everything from others?” She therefore calls Galliano's choice for the role “a real ethical surprise.”

Oana Leonte, former marketing director at Puma, adds to the LinkedIn discussion that Zara has very little archive to draw from in the first place. Most of it is inspired or copied from other designers. If anyone can bring dead things back to life, it is Galliano. However, she questions whether that is enough, as the success relies on “borrowed meaning”—a reputation derived from external collaborations. Recently, Zara also had (short-lived) collaborations with designers Narciso Rodriguez and Ludovic de Saint Sernin; Steven Meisel, who handled the photography for Zara's fiftieth anniversary; and Vincent Van Duysen, who designed Zara's new concept store in Barcelona. None of this, including Galliano, is from Inditex itself.

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According to Swedish master tailor Linda Carlen, the big question is not what Zara gains from the deal, but what it will do to Galliano's own reputation. On LinkedIn, she analyses his latest couture collection for Maison Margiela (spring/summer 2024), through which he symbolically broke with his past at Dior. This past, despite his incredible artistic work, ended in controversy. Racist and antisemitic remarks led to his departure from the house. By now joining forces with Zara, “he is slapping haute couture in the face, and he is doing it loud and clear.”

From a business perspective, there is more understanding. E-tail expert Elisabetta Borghi describes the deal on LinkedIn as an inevitable step. Zara's market position is more fragile than its annual figures suggest, with revenue growing by only 1 percent in 2025. “In recent seasons, Zara has tried to move into the higher segment,” she writes, pointing to more luxurious fabrics, clean silhouettes and less flashy campaigns. “But the inspiration was too obvious. Ralph Lauren references were barely concealed. Chanel codes were transposed onto 49-euro blazers. Even consumers with no background knowledge felt that something was not right.” In a direct, multi-year collaboration with a tailor like Galliano, Zara might be able to grow into its own identity.

The chain and the artist

The reactions also rightly pointed to the designer collaborations with H&M, a tradition that began in 2004 with Karl Lagerfeld, then creative director at Chanel. The series also included Stella McCartney (2005); Viktor & Rolf (2006); Rabanne (autumn 2023); and most recently, Glenn Martens (2025). With each edition, the collections sold out within hours. They were enthusiastically received by the media. To celebrate twenty years of guest designers, H&M even released a limited reissue of what have now become collector's items.

That H&M received less criticism may have to do with the timing. Only in recent years has it become clear that the incessant stream of 'collabs' can also come at a high cost to independent brands, wrote fashion commentator Twinn Brett on his Substack. Moreover, H&M has its long-standing reputation as a “Scandinavian, 'clean', friendly, environmentally conscious and quality brand,” states Brett. “H&M is softer and more accessible than the edgier Zara, making it attractive to a wider audience. They are perhaps the best marketers and the best greenwashers in the world.”

The Zara collaboration also distinguishes itself from H&M's capsules through a long-term mentality, states Ana Vareva, owner of the German Fashion Consulting Group. “Unlike those short collabs, this feels strategically coherent and long-term,” she writes. “Zara has already increased the quality and distinctiveness in the mid-market segment in recent years. A collaboration with Galliano will justify the higher prices, emphasise (creative, ed.) talent, and strengthen the brand's positioning.”

Galliano: a man of many faces

John Galliano was born on November 28, 1960, in Gibraltar and moved to London with his parents at the age of six. He did not finish school, a foreshadowing of his headstrong characteristics as a fashion designer and entrepreneur. Instead, he studied textiles and went on to the prestigious fashion institute Central Saint Martins. The fascination with historical costumes he developed there is evident throughout his entire body of work. In 1995, Galliano became the first Briton to be appointed head of a French fashion house, at Givenchy. A year later, LVMH moved him to Christian Dior. His fifteen years at the fashion house (1996–2011), with theatrical themes such as Egyptian princesses, gypsies and showgirls, are considered one of the most extravagant periods in modern fashion history.

What remains is the question of whether Galliano can express his vision in a company that is fundamentally different from haute couture or prêt-à-porter. In his 42-year career, he has repeatedly managed to find beauty in dusty brands and ugliness. This now seems to be his assignment from Marta Ortega Pérez.