The much-anticipated debut of John Galliano’s high fashion and fast fashion collaboration with Zara has officially arrived at Paris Fashion Week, bringing with it a wave of glittering garments and a heavy dose of synthetic materials. None of this comes as a genuine shock to industry observers, given how deeply fast fashion—and the broader fashion industry as a whole—relies on problematic plastic-based textiles. This inaugural collection highlights not only the creative intersection of couture design and mass-market retail but also underscores the persistent environmental and ethical values problems that continue to plague the modern fashion landscape.
John Galliano’s Zara Collection Makes the Industry’s Priorities Clear
The first of John Galliano’s buzzy, high-profile collaborations with Zara has landed in the midst of a uniquely challenging landscape, one defined not just by questions surrounding Galliano’s career trajectory, but by broader examinations of the fashion industry’s shifting values and ethical compass.
The designer’s retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was famously cancelled in August following widespread criticism and public debate over his prior conviction for making antisemitic remarks. The controversy reignited fierce discussions over whether disgraced or formerly cancelled figures should be celebrated by premier cultural institutions, and what the Met’s decision to host—and subsequently scrap—such an exhibition reveals about fashion’s recurring amnesia when it comes to individuals who have caused harm to others.
Earlier in the year, when the partnership between Zara and Galliano was first announced, many insiders and critics questioned the strategic and cultural value of a designer historically known for the highest echelons of luxury and avant-garde craftsmanship choosing to pivot into the realm of fast fashion. As journalist Cathaleen Chen perceptively wrote in the Business of Fashion at the time of the announcement, "Depending on which corner of the internet you inhabit, this is either the ultimate coup for Zara or the moment a couture god hit rock bottom."
This first volume, officially dubbed the Reform collection, showcases Galliano working in direct "conversation" with Zara’s corporate archive of past clothing designs. The collection officially launched during Paris Fashion Week and is immediately available for consumers to shop online and in stores. Spanning a massive 157 distinct items, the price points stretch dramatically across the consumer spectrum, ranging from an accessible $29.99 for basic pieces up to $999.99 for more elaborate, statement-making garments.
However, once the collection dropped online and the detailed product specifications became public, a familiar and contentious material reality came to light. Many of the garments were revealed to be constructed heavily from synthetic materials, including polyester, polyamide, polyurethane, and acrylic. While traditional and natural fabrics such as wool, silk, viscose, genuine sheep leather, and cotton also appear throughout the extensive inventory, the overwhelming dominance of synthetics reinforces the ongoing, fierce critique leveled against fast fashion giants: that beneath the high-concept branding and designer names, a staggering proportion of their clothes are fundamentally made of plastic.
Reliance on Polyester is a Larger Fashion Problem
The environmental platform Good On You has observed and critiqued the fashion industry’s heavy, entrenched reliance on synthetic fibers for years, noting that the problem is systemic rather than isolated to a single high-profile collaboration. Two key statistical realities capture the sheer scale of this ongoing material crisis across the global marketplace.
First, synthetic fibers accounted for a staggering 69% of all global fiber production, according to data from Textile Exchange, with polyester alone single-handedly making up 59% of that total output. This dominance is driven by persistent commercial demand for specific performance characteristics, such as stretch, durability, and moisture-wicking, alongside the economic necessity for low-cost materials that can be scaled rapidly to meet the relentless cycles of modern retail.
Second, the world’s biggest fashion brands frequently point to recycled polyester as a major corporate circularity "win," positioning it as the top lower-impact material in their sustainability portfolios. Market research shows that 65% of large, multinational fashion brands utilize this material, compared to 46% of smaller, independent brands. Yet, industry experts emphasize that continuing to lean heavily on synthetics—even when sourced from recycled materials—rather than actively innovating and seeking out genuinely restorative, non-plastic alternatives, falls far short of solving the industry’s ecological footprint.
Why is Polyester So Bad?
For environmental scientists and ethical fashion advocates, polyester remains a foundational sustainability nightmare. Fundamentally, polyester is a synthetic plastic manufactured directly from fossil fuels, tying the apparel sector tightly to the extraction and consumption of oil. The production process itself is exceptionally energy-intensive and consumes vast quantities of water, while the resulting garments do not biodegrade at the end of their lifecycle, lingering in landfills or natural ecosystems for centuries.
Furthermore, the lifecycle of polyester generates widespread ecological damage. The material continuously leaches microplastics into water systems during washing cycles, polluting marine environments and entering the global food chain. Its manufacturing also frequently involves harmful chemical dyes and treatments that can damage local ecosystems near production facilities. Additionally, polyester is notoriously difficult to recycle effectively back into textile-grade fiber—a nuance that is often obscured by the widespread marketing prevalence of recycled polyester, which is predominantly manufactured from post-consumer plastic water bottles rather than closed-loop textile waste. Given these cumulative impacts, sustainability experts universally agree that polyester is a material to be actively avoided.
This is Yet Another Reminder to Skip “High Fashion” Fast Fashion
The arrival of the new John Galliano collection for Zara serves as a powerful confirmation of what critics of the modern apparel industry have long understood: that corporate growth and consumer consumption must be achieved at all costs, regardless of the staggering waste and pollution generated along the supply chain, and regardless of the ethical controversies surrounding the creative personalities involved. The industry-wide race to the bottom continues unabated, and now, even the biggest and most prestigious players in the traditional luxury industry are willingly getting in on the trend.
As consumers increasingly navigate a marketplace where high-concept design is routinely packaged into disposable, fossil-fuel-dependent garments, collections like Reform highlight the persistent gap between fashion’s artistic ambitions and its environmental realities. For shoppers seeking alternatives that align better with ecological and ethical standards, the market continues to offer independent directories and ratings platforms designed to highlight brands doing better than fast fashion giants like Zara.
