“Is fast fashion back?” “Was it ever gone?” and "Why are people surprised?” are some of the questions I've had in the wake of two major Zara developments. First, it was announced mid-March, to some ire, that John Galliano would be entering a two-year-long partnership with the Spanish mall brand that will have him tend to the “archives” — whatever that means, for both a decades-old chain that churns out floods of goods by the week and a designer whose own past is locked inside LVMH's vault. 

Swiftly thereafter, CFDA-Award winner Willy Chavarria's collection for Zara hit stores, mere days after a telenovela-themed and Christy Turlington-fronted campaign teased its launch last Monday. But as far as intersecting high fashion with high street goes, this is hardly the Inditex subsidiary's debutante moment. In celebration of its 50th anniversary this past year, Zara has already been rolling out a number of projects that far out-glamour'd the seedy reputation that clings to businesses of its scale: A 50-supermodel-heavy shoot by Steven Meisel; collabs with everyone from Rosalía to ex-Alaïa/soon-Versace's Peter Mulier; and Bad Bunny's custom-made Superbowl outfit.

While the depths of fast fashion controversy go beyond-scope of what I want to cover in this newsletter today, it's safe to say that the mainstream cultural sentiment (as well as trade media's consensus) has been that luxury equals good, fast equals bad — with Zara, specifically, as a forefront example of a company that  puts quantity over quality, trendiness over timelessness, and lower prices over higher wages. Despite (and perhaps to defy) these tensions, however, Zara still does well by a pristine visual language, impeccably styled lookbooks, plus inarguably cool guest edits by big names (e.g., Stefano Pilati of Saint Laurent fame) and niche favorites (e.g., Soshiotsuki) alike.

Are Zara and the fast fashion complex it embodies officially absolved? No. But are these clean-up measures working? Well, let me put it this way: I hadn't even cared to see the contents of a Zara since the days of Riccardo Tisci's Givenchy Rottweiler hoodies, but I was totally taken aback by how much I liked what I saw on its website just last week. So yes, something is working. Guess it pays off — for both sides, I'd imagine — to have IYKYK folks like stylist Charlotte Collet on the call sheet, whose other credits include higher brow gigs for Hermès, Auralee, and WSJ, among plenty more. And I mean, come on: Massimo Dutti's curated, AD-type interior zine? This is the branding — dare I say, the world-building — of a premium or even luxury house.

Meanwhile, Inditex's fiercest rival, Sweden's H&M Group, isn't lagging behind. If anything, COS — with its celeb-attended runway shows, heartthrob-starring advertisements, and beacon status to quiet luxury-obsessed millennials — towers over the playing field, having emerged as the ultimate golden child of the category, consistently wiping the floor with labels ten times as expensive in the quarterly races for The Lyst Index's hottest brand honors. Its parent corp's namesake flagship, H&M, continues its run of annual designer crossovers and is casting members for its Stella McCartney-helmed Insights Board to progress CSR causes. Stateside, the likes of American Eagle and Zac Posen's GAP and are actively repositioning their image and offering.

Fast fashion is claiming a new(-ish) proximity to the people, services, and aesthetics typically associated with bigger shopping budgets, which creates an interesting friction both between different users, and within those users individually. On one hand, there's the constant (and reasonable) complaint of luxury's excessive, elitist, never-capping price hikes. And on the other hand, there is the (just as reasonable) moral high ground to hold against everything we know is wrong with this industry, specifically the areas of it that even allow for its more  affordable segments in the first place.

It’s worth pointing out that, thanks to its supposed trend agnosticism, only Uniqlo is frequently spared the critiques its peers are exposed to here (leaving its customers with a rare sense of moral superiority and savings). Less polarizing in its perception and product roster, the Japanese enterprise counts as “better” fast fashion, colloquially at least. Its dabblings in luxury are rarer but usually operate on longer term timelines, with Chloé alum Clare Waight Keller or JW Anderson producing accessible, ongoing lines under the retailer, befitting that same ethos of dressing clientele for life, not just phases. GU, its even cheaper daughter firm, is also gaining traction, especially with younger spenders. 

Still, the landfill doesn’t discern between staples or occasionwear. Stuff is stuff, and overconsumption's just that. But these days, there are important differences between fast and even faster fashion, à la Shein. So the real conundrum lies not in taking a definitive stance on the “good or bad” categorical judgments, but in the nuances at play: fabric knowledgeability, longevity of taste versus quick-fix fads, need versus impulse. Real high fashion has always been anti-democratic and there's no dismantling of that, outside of maybe resale, though there is room for compromises like Galliano x Zara. Because the system and what draws us to it always depends on certain barriers.

A more compelling field for assessment, rather than debating this economy's innate hypocrisy, is whether a mass market’s slow but successful adoption of the upper echelon's lexicon can truly shake up competitor dynamics. Elsewhere, we’re seeing cross-overs like Oakley employing Matthew M. Williams (1017 ALYX 9SM) as its creative director, or Kim Jones joining Chinese outerwear giant Bosideng post-Dior — micro shifts with macro potential. Of course there will always remain a discrepancy between the staging of items versus their actual monetary value. Nonetheless, with consumers paying closer attention to the material and ethical fine print of what they buy, luxury might soon be competing not just with itself, but with mall brands too.

Written by Max Migowski, Highsnobiety Shopping Editor

Miu Miu's woven penny loafers remind me, amazingly, of a well-designed chair.

After many summers of cropped T-shirts and tanks, this coming summer promises to be the summer of cropped Jil Sander button-downs.

Said it once, will say it again: Barrel pants are the new boyfriend jeans. The week's finest comes from Carhartt x sacai.

Uniqlo's barrels are a close runner-up (though they ultimately win in the cha-ching department)! These Prada-esque navy pleats are also très chic (and a bargain).

On that note: Is it fair to have rambled on and on about COS without pointing out some current favs? We like this silk shirt from the Seoul show and this simply sexy ribbed cotton tee.

Not a minimalist? Let Junya Watanabe's photo-printed coats, barn or trench, make your eccentric heart skip a beat.

How cute is this Lady White sweatshirt’s tiny collar zipper?!

Alert, alert: Kiko Kostadinov's split-toe ASICS just got a restock.

For a more classically functional running shoe, adidas’ latest beast is finally back as well.

Elsewhere in activewear, Nike's top and skirt tennis combo should have you itching for a racket.

Also putting Odlo on your map for easily washable, super comfy merino work-out gear.

And for a final, shameless self plug: why not cop Highsnobiety's very own, St. Moritz-themed cardigan or wool cap? For that alpine feel, all year long.

By Max Migowski

with Herbert Hofmann, Delia Cai & Youri Chapelle