It’s here and it’s haute.
I remember the first time I walked into an actual Zara store. I was visiting my cousin in Miami, who so happened to be one of the store managers. Peeling through the racks of clothes, shoes, and accessories I remember asking myself, “who the hell are these guys?”
Photo by: Abiola Akanni
Unlike H&M or Forever21, who I’m sure we’ve all begun to have our fill of, Zara is the fast-fashion equivalent of a brick and mortar celestial dream. None compare. And at a time where fashion has become so accessible, so inexcusably mainstream, and so freaking affordable, a store that can emulate the trends as scrupulously as Zara might as well be up there with the luxury giants.
Founded by Amancio Ortega in 1975, Zaras business model sets them apart. Instead of saturating stores with overcrowded t-bars and accessory tables, they’ve opted for the less is more mantra; creating a seamless shopping experience built around beauty, clarity, functionality, and sustainability.
In addition, the stores “highly centralized, but rarely duplicated design” allows for an almost bullet proof manufacturing and distribution process. With each store receiving small shipments twice a week, at precise times via the recommendations of store managers, who get their feedback directly from the customers. This information flows back to the Zara brain child, or Cube as it’s called in Artexico Spain, where buyers, planners, and marketers are alerted of these changes. They then share the what’s hot and what’s not updates with designers, allowing effective refinements to be made to the garments, which are sent back to the stores, new and improved, at lightening speed.
Photo by: Abiola Akanni
What does this mean for Seattle? Um, that we have arrived! Seattle is so stylish, but for some reason we fail to believe it. Zara has officially solidified our fashion credibility for all the skeptics out there.
We’ve won the Super Bowl, nabbed a few Grammy’s thanks to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and now we’ve got one of the largest Zara stores in the United States – approximately 8,200 square feet to be exact – occupying our Westlake pavilion. And it’s for everyone, if you’re willing to admit that you too want to be stylish.
Forget the fashion elite. With a section devoted to every style saga and generation – inclusively women’s, mens, and kids – there’s enough cool gear to go around. And yes, that goes for the rustic-loving Seattle types; even you enjoy being unabashedly svelte at times. So nix the intimidation excuses brought on by the buildings commercial presentation. It’s ok to like super-savvy industry stuff sometimes Seattle!
Photo by: Abiola Akanni
The stores current collection features looks from the spring runways that we love, including ‘90s skorts and the updated white blouse - crisp, clean, and unusually chic. Then there’s the ‘20s style Hawaiian prints with a San Tropez vibe, black basics, embellished knitwear, colorful crocheted separates, and a smattering of artistic prints. The guys section looked pretty sharp as well, with a limited edition collection – we’re actually the first store to have it – featuring luxe French inspired fabrics. Including a dapper deep green silk suit, which I would so wear despite not being a man or sharing similar proportions.
With it’s official store launch a week behind us, Thursday, April 13th to be exact, Zara is now open to public. Enter at your own risk, but most of all, enjoy it. It’s all yours Seattle.
Zara | Westlake Center 400 Pine St. | (206) 204 – 6440