John Galliano has officially launched his first collaboration with Zara, with the collection arriving as Re{form} Vol. 1, a genderless lineup built from the retailer’s own archives. The debut marks the beginning of a two-year partnership between the British designer and the Spanish fashion giant, bringing Galliano’s couture-driven approach to a series of reconstructed Zara garments. The collection is available now through Zara’s website and selected physical stores.
The Zara x John Galliano collection arrives with a campaign photographed by Steven Meisel and reflects Galliano’s return to a major fashion project following his departure from Maison Margiela in December 2024. Rather than creating a conventional designer capsule, Galliano worked with existing Zara pieces as starting points, cutting, resizing, layering and reconstructing them into new silhouettes. The result pushes familiar shirts, dresses, tailoring and accessories into considerably more experimental territory.
Galliano Reworks Zara’s Archives
Re{form} Vol. 1 is built around a process of dismantling and reconstruction. Archival Zara garments were treated as raw material and transformed using techniques associated with couture, allowing pieces that would normally function as everyday wardrobe staples to take on completely different forms.
Among the collection’s transformations is an oversized Zara button-up shirt finished with a foil print that gives it the appearance of a leather coat. A lace shift dress has been reconstructed into a ruffled collar, while tailoring features repositioned pockets that change the proportions and attitude of the garments.
Elsewhere, trousers are cut and rebuilt into cropped, voluminous shapes. Layered garments create trompe-l’oeil effects that make multiple pieces appear to form a single structured look. John Galliano’s first collection with Zara focuses less on adding decoration to existing garments and more on changing their construction.
Historical References Shape Re{form}
Galliano also draws from several historical and cultural references for the first volume. The collection looks toward Les Incroyables and Les Merveilleuses, the flamboyant figures of post-Revolutionary France who also inspired the designer’s 1984 Central Saint Martins graduate collection.
Those influences appear through frock coats, breeches, dramatic outerwear and formal tailoring, while other pieces bring in elements of film noir and traditional gardening wardrobes. The references span different periods rather than adhering to a single historical aesthetic, giving the collection a deliberately mixed visual language.
The color palette moves between darker shades including black, navy, brown, burgundy and dark green and lighter horticultural tones such as khaki, mint, pale blue, olive and ochre. Purple, turquoise, orchid pink and acid green introduce brighter cinematic notes.
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