Terrible idea or major coup? Galliano’s Zara collection launches after Met controversy | Zara

A A month after it was announced that a planned exhibition dedicated to fashion designer John Galliano at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art failed, his first collection for fast fashion company Zara has been released.

Called Re{form}, it was, according to a press release, “written by fashion designer John Galliano. Built from our memory. Designed for now.”

Its launch in stores follows controversy over plans to honor the former Dior designer, convicted of a hate crime in 2011 after a series of racist and anti-Semitic rants, with an exhibition of his work at the Met and a corresponding Met Gala – a juggernaut of popular culture seen by billions across the online world. The exhibition was canceled, but if it had gone ahead, it would have been only the third time such an honor would have been bestowed on a living designer. The only others being Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons in 2017.

Negative reactions to the project were vehement and widespread, with Met patrons, New York politicians, and prominent Jewish leaders opposing it. Writing in the New York Times, his biographer Dana Thomas called the idea “terrible,” saying that “choosing this moment to glorify the work of someone who has been convicted of anti-Semitic remarks…is downright bizarre,” and noting that “his infamous anti-Semitic speeches were not an aberration.”

In other quarters of the fashion industry, notably among Anna Wintour, support for Galliano has been just as full. Many argue that he has sufficiently atoned for his crimes. Others point out that it has been 15 years since Galliano, who was then suffering from addiction, committed them and that there should come a time for forgiveness.

Galliano said in his exhibition withdrawal statement: “I remain fully responsible for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the harm I have caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry for it. »

Given this tense atmosphere and renewed attention to Galliano’s past, why did Zara continue with its plans?

For Zara, says Orsola de Castro, designer and author, it is “the coup of their career, of their life, of their brand”. Fashion critic Philippe Pourhashemi is of the same opinion: “For Zara, it’s still a big blow that they managed to win over (Galliano).

“It’s a really, really important thing, because if we really look at it from a rational point of view, it doesn’t really make sense that someone like him would be working with a platform like that.”

More concretely, there are logistics. The collection, which was photographed by famed fashion photographer Steven Meisel, was years — and a lot of money — in the making and for some, even in the wake of the Met’s cancellation, Zara following suit was an unrealistic prospect. Online and in the form of queues outside Zara’s Bond Street store on Thursday morning, there was immense excitement for the unveiling of the designs.

Galliano has been working elsewhere in the fashion industry for years. Fired by Dior in 2011, he returned to work in 2013 and completed a short residency with New York designer Oscar de la Renta. Starting in 2014, he spent a decade as creative director of Margiela, bowing in a final show in 2024 that was widely celebrated in the industry as legendary and historic. Her designs continued to appear even on the Met Gala red carpet: in 2024, Kim Kardashian wore chain mail and a corseted Galliano creation to walk the steps.

The venerable Met and the high street are different beasts. Zara, which is owned by Inditex, the world’s largest fashion retailer, is a fast fashion brand that has previously come under fire over allegations of unethical treatment of workers. “Zara has done a really good job of whitewashing its image, and Galliano is part of that as well,” says Pourhashemi.

In terms of grappling with Galliano’s past, according to fashion expert and historian Tony Glenville: “His anti-Semitism and his issues are something that I guess in discussions he just thought, ‘It’s fashion and we want his name on some clothes,’ just a business deal.” Fashion as an industry is not inherently known for its ethics.

Zara hopes to strengthen its fashion strengths. The collection, priced from £17.99 to £699, is positioned as a dialogue between Galliano and the Zara archives: designed from Zara archive garments, it will be produced in new materials, rather than pre-existing stock.

The collection is also seen as an argument for Zara to be considered the brand of affordable luxury. In the age of Shein, Temu, Primark and supermarket fashion, it is, according to Pourhashemi, “vital, from a commercial point of view, that Zara distances itself”. It also hopes to differentiate itself from its own discount brand, Lefties, which launched in Liverpool last month. For Glenville, “it all comes down to Inditex leaving the lowest prices for lefties to do the hard work – and elevate Zara.”

For Zara, this decision is probably more about reputation than actual sales. “It’s a real draw for us,” says Glenville, noting that many clothes from these designer collaborations never actually make it to stores.

Galliano is known for his theatrical and storytelling designs, not his inherently wearable clothing. The designs are inspired by characters from his famous 1984 graduate collection titled Les Incroyables: “Les Incroyables et les Merveilleuses – the provocative dandies and divas of post-revolutionary France.” Speaking to Vogue, Galliano said he “has no intention of stooping” for a more mainstream market.

Galliano signed a two-year contract, so the stakes are relatively low. “If he makes a few collections a year in small quantities, they get cachet without too much risk,” explains Glenville. “If the success is phenomenal, they will extend his contract.”

Zara declined to comment.