A rumor spread by DeuxMoi has sparked panic through purists: Anderson to Zara. The Northern Irish creative seemed to be ready to sign for the fast fashion colossus. But, amid the official denial and the historic connection with Uniqlo, the failed scoop unveiled the snobbishness of the industry.
by Domenico Casoria
Under the August heat, while everyone else was busy doing other things, panic sparked among fashion purists. It was all due to a rumor that went viral online, claiming that an unlikely alliance had definitely been formed: it was stated that Jonathan Anderson was ready to design a new collection for Zara. DeuxMoi, an account known for spreading gossip, was actually the one to drop the “bomb” online. For almost ten hours, the whole fashion world lived in the fear that even the king of conceptual design had surrendered to the allure and money of the Spanish colossus. Then, with a sudden story on the Instagram profile of his brand JW Anderson, the Northern Irish stylist definitively denied the rumor. A close call, but a false alarm.
Anderson to Zara?
But why did a simple rumor make everyone jump out of their seats? The first reason could be completely practical and economic: nobody likes commercial betrayals. Since 2017, Anderson has been happily working – with great success – with the Japanese brand Uniqlo, for which he creates popular seasonal capsule collections. Even if Uniqlo and Zara actually have opposite clothing visions, they still remain two influential and significant competitors in terms of great distribution. For this reason, seeing the same designer leap from one brand to another would have been a legal and public mess that would have been definitely hard to explain.
A matter of purism
Then, to be completely clear, it is also a matter of snobbishness. As for right now, Anderson represents the most noble, cultured and intellectual wing of contemporary fashion. Seeing him surrender to the temptation of the Spanish mass production would have broken the heart of those who want his most brilliant ideas to be safeguarded from the ruthless logic of revenue.
Is it really that impossible?
On the other hand, if you think about it with a little bit of mischief, this whole story is not as improbable as it seems. In fact, we can highlight actual reasons why a partnership like this one could even happen in the recent future. Zara is no longer as it used to be. In particular, Under the direction of Marta Ortega, daughter of the founder Amancio, the strategy is incredibly clear: to shake off its reputation as a cheap fast-fashion brand and rebrand itself as one of accessible luxury.
The previous examples
But how? By choosing among the names of high end luxury. In this regard, its ranks have already included figures of the caliber of Stefano Pilati, Narciso Rodriguez, Samuel Ross, Ludovic de Saint Sernin and even John Galliano, who has just signed a two-year contract. So, for this time it was just a false alarm and fashion fans can rest. The only question that remains is to what extent top designers will be able to say no when the six-figure checks start to truly pile up.
Photos by the JW Anderson profile and Shutterstock
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