Zara unveils new partnership with John Galliano

Galliano, who has also worked at Dior and Givenchy, will design seasonal collections for the brand as part of a two-year partnership.

He will work directly with clothes from the high street retailer’s past collections, “deconstructing and reconfiguring them into new seasonal expressions and creations,” Zara said.

The collections, which have been “guided by a couture process and authorship”, will be released seasonally, with the first landing in-stores and online in September.

The appointment forms part of Zara’s ongoing strategy to elevate its brand and product design to create a more premium experience as it looks to distance itself from fast throwaway fashion players, such as Shein and Temu.

The retailer has raised its prices and introduced more fashion-forward, higher quality pieces in recent years, finding the balance between mass market and luxury.

Zara has also worked with perfumer Jo Malone for the last couple of years on a range of premium fragrances, as well as Belgian architect, interiors and product designer Vincent Van Duysen on a homeware line.

John Galliano told Vogue: “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.

“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.”

Zara owner Inditex saw its pre-tax profit rise 5.8% to €8bn (£6.9bn) and sales edge up 3.2% to €39.9bn (£34.5bn) in the year to January 31.

The group, which also owns Bershka, Pull&Bear, and Massimo Dutti, said that its new spring/summer collections have gone down well with customers. Store and online sales in constant currency were up 9% year on year, between February 1 and March 8.