Zara has historically been light on collaborations, as far as fashion brands go. While the rest of the industry has been trigger-happy with collabs, Zara had just one collaboration with a major brand in 2020, releasing a pair of sneakers with PlayStation in July.
But in 2021, Zara has partnered with names including Everlast in January, Kassl Additions in September and Charlotte Gainsburg in October. And in the last three weeks, it’s rolled out collaborations with Korean streetwear label Ader Error, biotech company LanzaTech and TRX, a company that makes at-home fitness equipment and publishes digital workout videos.
Each of these collaborations connects Zara with a buzzy area of fashion. The Ader Error collaboration encompasses physical and digital outfits, the latter of which were released in the South Korean metaverse Zepeto. Meanwhile, the LanzaTech collab focuses on sustainability by making clothes from captured carbon emissions, and the TRX partnership links Zara to on-the-rise at-home fitness.
It seems Zara’s strategy is to tap partners that specialize in emerging spaces to gain a foothold in those categories.
According to a Zara press release, the six-month partnership with TRX builds on Zara’s own activewear line, called Athleticz, which launched in September of 2020. In addition to a new collection of Athleticz clothing, the collaboration includes Zara selling TRX Suspension Trainers equipment on its site. Zara is also offering shoppers of the collab a six-month subscription to TRX Training Club, a digital workout platform akin to Peloton or Nike Training Club. TRX trainer Niko Algieri filmed new workouts at Zara’s studio in New York as part of the collaboration.
