I’ve lost count of how many TikToks I’ve watched dissecting—and dragging—John Galliano following the announcement of his upcoming collaboration with Zara. Set to launch in September 2026, the project arrives with virtually no details—yet plenty of opinion.
For months, industry speculation placed Galliano back at Dior, or perhaps at Chanel, or another legacy house worthy of his theatrical legacy. Instead, the news landed elsewhere—and the reaction was immediate. Shock, irritation, and a wave of irony-laced commentary, much of it centered on the supposed absurdity of Zara having “archives” at all.
Galliano for Zara Isn’t the Problem—Fashion’s Elitism Is
And yet, my first reaction wasn’t outrage—it was excitement.
Because Zara is accessible. Because for many of us, vintage John Galliano for Dior pieces exist more as fantasy than reality, locked behind price points that make participation impossible. To dismiss this collaboration as “degrading” says more about fashion’s lingering elitism than it does about the work itself.
High-low collaborations are hardly new. Major designers have long engaged with high-street brands, translating their vision for a broader audience. If anything, these projects reflect a fashion system slowly—if imperfectly—adjusting to a more inclusive, contemporary consumer landscape.
Talent does not dilute across price points. If Galliano were designing for an outlet, I would still follow, still analyze, still care. The notion that he would somehow “hold back” at Zara—or even at H&M—feels fundamentally misguided. A designer of his caliber doesn’t simply switch off. His career, marked by brilliance and turbulence in equal measure, has never followed a linear path—but his creative instinct has remained unmistakable.
What matters now is the work.
There’s an opportunity here—one I hope Zara doesn’t squander. Not another cycle of muted palettes and algorithm-friendly minimalism, but something closer to the Galliano we remember: narrative, drama, print, excess. The late ’90s and early 2000s weren’t afraid of fashion as spectacle. Today’s landscape, by contrast, feels increasingly flattened into shades of beige and the monotony of the “clean girl” aesthetic.
Perhaps this collaboration can disrupt that.
At the very least, it opens the door for more people to participate in a vision that has too often felt out of reach. And that, in itself, is worth paying attention to.
article by Burcu Acem
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