Sustainable Fashion: Zara and the Pop-Up that revolutionizes the Fashion Industry
The fashion industry is undergoing a significant transformation towards sustainability. The focus is shifting from a consumption and excess-oriented approach to a more responsible production aimed at protecting the environment and social well-being. Companies are adopting sustainable practices throughout the supply chain, including the use of eco-friendly materials, low-impact production processes, and support for workers' rights. It is from this perspective that the idea of Inditex's project originated, developed in Zara's flagship store during Milan's Fuorisalone.
Zara
Context
Fuorisalone is an extraordinary event that brings together thousands of people in Milan every year, becoming the focal point of the event and all associated activities, symbolizing design and style. This celebration encompasses all the events taking place in different areas of Milan concurrently with the International Furniture Fair. Thanks to its great popularity, Fuorisalone is capable of staggering numbers, attracting over 300,000 visitors from around the world to Milan in just one week.
Company
The protagonist of the project was the Inditex S.A. group, the clothing giant that owns numerous renowned fashion brands, including Zara, Zara Home, Bershka, Stradivarius, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, and Uterqüe. The group was founded in 1963 by the union of Amancio Ortega and Rosalia Mera, with the aim of offering fashion to a wide audience, regardless of age, culture, and social status. Ortega always wanted customers of prestigious brands like Dior or Chanel to feel comfortable shopping at Zara, which is why the group invested in storefronts strategically located near the shops of the most famous luxury brands. Inditex adopts a vertical integration model and differentiates itself from competitors by shipping directly from production factories to reduce warehouse costs.
250
m² of recycled fabric
30
Assembly hours
15K
Daily visitors
Objective
The Inditex group created the SIH (Sustainability Innovation Hub) to support technologies, materials, and innovative processes that limit the environmental impact of products and promote sustainable circularity. The platform identifies and tests startup initiatives to adapt them to the supply chain and textile industry, joining forces with innovators to bring positive change to the textile sector.The objective of the project was to transform Zara's flagship store in Milan, a historic Art Deco building that once housed the Astra Cinema, into a temporary space that would showcase the innovations of the startups supported by the Inditex group for the brand's future. The structure itself had to be built with completely recyclable sustainable fabric, symbolizing Inditex's "zero waste" approach.
Solutions
The creative idea was conceived by Random Studio (a partner with whom Manaly had already collaborated on CP Company Mostra Cinquanta and Pitti Uomo)) and was realized by Manaly. The pop-up at Zara's flagship store in Milan was created with the aim of embracing its temporary nature and engaging with the existing space, without altering the building and using minimal custom architecture. The installation, made of semi-transparent fabrics produced entirely from recycled materials, transformed the store's entrance foyer into a sensory journey in harmony with the brand's heritage and in dialogue with the original architecture. Transparency was the key element of the narrative: the space was divided into two zones that created an accessible journey, showcasing numerous initiatives, people, and possibilities that make up the SIH. The structure was designed with a gradient of warm reds, making it inviting and dynamic, in contrast to the sterile tones often used to represent the future. Visitors were fully immersed in a curated selection of six different innovations, guided by lights, sounds, and images that led them through each individual story, exploring the process and results of these collaborations. The end result was a true sensory experience that blended the past and the future, giving a new meaning to the Zara brand.
"Working with Manaly was a collaboration throughout the project; they advised us on material selection from an early stage and how best to adjust design details in matching Zara and Random’s sustainable vision for the project. Manaly was flexible and diligent in creating adjustments and refinements during design phases and on-site during the build, and also in providing solutions and partners for the after-use life of materials. We were delighted with the results of working with Manaly and would be keen to work with them again.”
— Communications Manager & Producer at Random Studio
