The first Re{form} Zara collection signed by John Galliano has finally arrived And it's as beautiful as we expected

Yesterday, right in the middle of Paris Fashion Week, the Re{form} Zara collection designed by John Galliano was finally unveiled. This is only the first installment of an ongoing collection, which has accordingly been titled Vol. 1 09/2026. To create it, Galliano drew from pieces and accessories in Zara's archive, cutting, reworking and reassembling them until arriving at something entirely new. The result, ça va sans dire, is very Galliano — but the early Galliano, the one from his debut collections Les Incroyables and les Merveilleuses.

The aesthetic, then, is that Frankenstein-style mix of Revolutionary France, Victorian England, film noir and a certain punk flavour that couldn't be more Galliano-esque. The idea behind the entire collection was to foreground the "assemblage" technique applied to the various garments. The protagonists are therefore trompe-l'œil layering, pieces fused into unique and singular forms, bias-cut fabrics and so on. But what exactly was the rationale behind the creation of this collection?

Elevating Zara through technique

As mentioned, the technique employed by Galliano was very much central to the collection's narrative. So much so that the assembly principle used throughout the collection has been named "re{form}ing". Every design originates from a Zara archive piece that has been redesigned and realised in a new material. Physical and digital hacking, shrinking, enlarging, filtering, sampling and splicing are all processes that have been heavily employed in this first chapter.

One of the most interesting techniques has been called "The Flix", inspired by flipbooks which, when leafed through quickly, transform individual images into moving sequences. Through this approach, a series of garments has been layered to create the illusion of a coat. The effect is achieved with an outer layer conceived from an archive coat, reformed into an almost invisible mesh dress that retains the collar, cuffs and lower panel in faux fur. The wearer can compose different coat images simply by swapping out the underlying layers. The same logic extends to layered transparent dresses that generate a final composite image.

Then there is "The Shi/ft", which encompasses all the garments illusionistically transformed into other garments. For instance, a shirt has been enlarged to three times its original size and foil-printed to resemble a leather coat, while retaining its original lightness. A lace slip dress features a ruffled jabot collar; a pullover is worn back-to-front as a stole, with the sleeves tied in a bow at the back; two pairs of trousers and shorts are cut apart and reassembled into sans-culotte trousers. Throughout, jacket pockets have been shifted backwards, forwards or upwards, adding a welcome dose of drama to the silhouettes.

Finally, there are coats transformed into redingotes through surgical cuts, skirts, slips and linings reversed into wrap skirts, coats distorted by shrinking treatments to make them as fitted as corsets, cardigans that open when buttoned, slips transformed into empire-line bralettes with fringing at the back, frayed fabrics that resemble feathers, three-dimensional embroideries on dresses, and little hats inspired by the "mouches" (that is, the beauty patches) of the 18th century. And, as one might expect, the bias cut is everywhere in abundance.

Materials, bags and accessories

As for the materials, some are quite impressive, to the point of making one wonder how much of it was sitting in the brand's archive. There is chiffon voile, georgette, point d'esprit, charmeuse, tulle and mesh; some feature foil-printed lace or vinyl sleeve trims. There are the wools typical of menswear wardrobes, sometimes with gingham pocket linings. The mesh dresses are trimmed with faux fur, and the feathers are in georgette.

Shirts remain in poplin, but also poplin piqué and foil-printed satin. Trench coats are made from enlarged or shrunk wool, cotton and vinyl; blouson jackets and pencil skirts in leather. There is also  the reversible Tri-Chic bag, which calls to mind bin liners, with a construction featuring crossbody straps and a metal chain closure that allow it to be worn by hand, over the shoulder or as a backpack.

Then there are detachable collars, fur collars, truly striking gloves (including an opera-length version), and hats co-designed with Stephen Jones. The shoes, finally, are the most surprising section because they are very cool. There are leather winklepickers with lace-up details and, in some cases, raised heels. Elongated military boots with an artificially worn finish. Platform sandals with T-bar straps and sculpted toes, kitten heels. The latter have the broadest commercial appeal. But what do we make of it all? And what about the prices?

So, do we like it or not?

We wouldn't have expected to say it — and perhaps we're saying it for the umpteenth time — but the collection is genuinely very Galliano. Clearly this is a collaboration with Zara and an accessible design proposition, so for those accustomed to luxury some things might seem unremarkable, while for those used to Zara's more basic fare, they might seem strange and even expensive. The prices are not exactly accessible: a blazer will set you back around €250, and a silk dress just under €800.

There are of course also pieces in less noble materials. Synthetic fabric is used throughout the collection, but given that the whole point of the project was to create an accessible avant-garde design, and that today several high-end luxury brands sell polyester under the name of "technical silk" or "technical taffeta", we feel comfortable saying you won't be committing any sin by buying it. There are pieces in pure cashmere sitting alongside composite polyester garments, and many others are in pure polyamide, but frankly, you have to choose between design and price — you can't have everything. Buying a plastic jumper from Shein is worse than buying a Galliano piece, even if it's Zara. At least there's some kind of meaning behind it.

But frankly, these are mid-range prices when you consider that the design amounts to a kind of greatest hits playlist of Galliano, and the clothes are wearable and conceived for the market while still retaining their avant-garde vibe. Will they be collectible pieces one day? Possibly. It remains to be seen how long the collaboration will run, but for now it's worth focusing on the pieces themselves. They're not your usual wardrobe staples, but they're not something bizarre and inaccessible either. In fact, this is perhaps the very quality that democratic fashion has today and will continue to have tomorrow.