Will John Galliano’s Zara be inspired by John Galliano’s Dior?
Stevie Nicks has given us our first look at John Galliano’s Zara—at the Met Gala, of all places.
The Fleetwood Mac singer was among the many celebrities who attended this year’s glitzy fundraiser, which was held as usual at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The event celebrated the opening of The Met’s new fashion exhibition, “Costume Art”. For Nicks, it was an extra special occasion: it marked her first-ever Met Gala.
The rockstar was dressed as flamboyantly as you would expect: Nicks arrived on the Met Gala red carpet in a deep blue velvet jacket and silk taffeta dress, fitted with a very, very wide crinoline. To fashion fans, the look was classic John Galliano—and indeed, it was designed by him as part of his creative partnership with Zara.
What does that partnership entail? According to Zara, Galliano “will re-author the brand’s archives through a series of seasonal collections” over the next two years, “working directly with garments from Zara’s past seasons.”
We did speculate that Galliano might even draw upon his own archival designs—especially those from his celebrated (and oft-referenced) collections for Dior in the ‘90s and the 2000s.
Stevie Nicks’s Met Gala look seems to confirm that. Her Zara gown bears resemblance to Maria-Luisa (dite Coré), a dress from Dior’s Spring/Summer 1998 haute couture collection. For that collection, Galliano was inspired by the Italian heiress, Marchesa Luisa Casati, who was one of the most notable names of European high society in the early 20th century.
Maria-Luisa (dite Coré) is Galliano’s ode to the Marchesa. The strapless black silk ballgown features a sweeping skirt with a long train. The voluminous skirt, which measures nearly three metres wide, is supported by large wired crinoline hoops borrowed from 19th-century fashion (Galliano loves fashion history!).
That dramatic Dior gown is housed in The Met, which is where many Met Gala attendees sought inspiration for their red carpet looks. Casati would also be the perfect person to reference at this year’s Met Gala: the dress code of the event, “Fashion Is Art”, encouraged guests to “express their own relationship to fashion as an embodied art form and celebrate the countless depictions of the dressed body throughout art history.”
Casati famously declared that she wanted to be “a living work of art”, and she served as the muse for the painter Giovanni Boldini, the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, and legendary couturiers like Mariano Fortuny, Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet.
Perhaps Stevie Nicks had the same intention when dressing up for her first Met Gala. The singer is known for her witchy, bohemian style, and her Galliano for Zara gown fit the bill with its dark, romantic design. Nicks also made her Met Gala look her own by accessorising with her signature top hat—this one was crafted by fashion’s favourite milliner, Stephen Jones—and a very mystical opal and diamond necklace from Tiffany & Co.
The fact that Nicks wore Zara and Tiffany & Co. together shouldn’t raise eyebrows anymore: the Spanish fast fashion brand has been positioning itself within the luxury world, namely through its collaborations with notable fashion figures (Steven Meisel and Kate Moss, for example) and through viral cultural moments. That includes Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, where the DtMF singer donned two custom Zara looks. Bad Bunny also wore a Zara suit to the Met Gala this year.
Zara’s strategy is paying off, according to Lyst. The data- and analytics-driven shopping platform recently shared its latest Lyst Index report, noting that Zara has been rising in the ranks of the world’s hottest fashion brands.
“Zara is effectively harnessing cultural capital, using it to construct something that feels directional enough to sit within the same broader conversation as luxury,” states Lyst. “This reflects a broader behavioral shift: consumers are not just buying products, but buying into narratives they have already encountered elsewhere.”
While Zara hasn’t cracked into Lyst’s list of top 20 fashion brands in the world yet, it might do so by the time September rolls around. That’s when Galliano’s first Zara collection will be unveiled.
There’s no word yet if Galliano will present his debut Zara collection with a fashion show, but it’s possible: the Spring/Summer 2027 shows will be taking place in September. And if Zara is good enough for the Met Gala, why wouldn’t it be good enough for Fashion Week?
This article was written by Pameyla Cambe and first published on Lifestyle Asia Singapore on May 6 2026.