Two years ago, John Galliano left Maison Margiela, and everyone assumed his next job would be at another big fashion house. Instead, he's landed at Zara.
Credit: Zara / All Rights Reserved
The brand confirmed the launch date on Instagram, and the concept is simple: Galliano digs into Zara's own history and rebuilds its pieces with a couturier's eye. Think of it less as a designer capsule and more as a rewrite of the Inditex giant's back catalogue.
It's quite a change of scale for a designer whose career has been defined by spectacle. Galliano made his name at Givenchy, then spent 15 years at Dior staging some of the most theatrical shows of the era, until he was dismissed in 2011 over antisemitic and racist remarks. Maison Margiela gave him a second act from 2014 to 2024, with a quieter, more cerebral approach and his celebrated Artisanal couture collections.
Credit: John Galliano, photographed by Szilveszter Makó, photographer and art director
Zara, meanwhile, has never been in better shape. Inditex, which also owns Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and Zara Home, posted a record net profit of more than €6 billion in 2025, according to FashionNetwork. What it lacks isn't money. It's fashion credibility, and a name like Galliano buys a lot of it.
Credit: Zara / All Rights Reserved
The question is what the collaboration does for him. For Zara, it's a clear win. For Galliano, whether a couturier's vision survives mass production will say a lot about the next chapter of his career. Guess we'll find out soon.