Zalando Puts a Scandi Spin on Slow-Selling Stock
After ditching its secondhand fashion platform, Zircle, last November just a year after relaunching it, Zalando is getting back into the circularity game.
The German fashion giant will exclusively launch “The Art of Remade” collection by the Danish designer brand Designers Remix on June 15. For the collection, Designers Remix upcycled deadstock from Zalando and its own studio into a 20-piece collection of dresses, shorts, blazers and hats, with six hero pieces produced in limited quantities due to the nature of the partially handmade design process. The collection will be available to customers in all of Zalando’s 25 European markets.
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Working with deadstock is now en vogue in fashion, with Shein the most recent high-profile player to ink a partnership to use these materials in lieu of ordering new virgin fabrics. But Zalando points out that the deadstock used in “The Art of Remade” comes from clothing that’s lingered in its inventory for more than two seasons, meaning it found a way to turn slow-selling garments into something it hopes will have stronger consumer appeal.
“The new collection is a tribute to women of style—women who have an urge to explore the contrasts of styling, adding masculine counterpoints to something ultra-feminine,” Charlotte Eskildsen, creative director at Designers Remix, said. “The process of curating the inventory is key for the concept. When working on the capsule, it was all about finding balance and being able to create a cohesive look which matches our brand DNA.”
This partnership plays into Zalando’s ambitions to “double down” on establishing the platform as a credible partner for luxury and designer brands as well as being the top destination for aspirational contemporary customers.
“We are thrilled to be working with Designers Remix on this special collection that focuses on the core notion of creating love pieces,” Lena-Sophie Röper, director designer and luxury at Zalando, said. “Quality and cultural association with a brand is very important to our Designer proposition. Designers Remix is a highly relevant brand especially for our Nordic customers, and it ranks among the best-selling Scandinavian brands on Zalando. Collaborating with Designers Remix on an exclusive collection is an opportunity for us to offer something truly exciting and locally relevant to our customers, as well as honor and celebrate Nordic designers and creatives.”
Zalando and Designers Remix have been collaborating since 2016 and have previously partnered on two capsule collections, both named “Small steps. Big impact,” released in 2020. This latest collection was produced in the brand’s Copenhagen studio by Eskildsen and her team, consisting of young women. Each woman signed her name into the garments—ranging from baroque-inspired jacquard fabrics and tulle dresses to masculine trousers and blazers—as a gesture to the wearer. The six hero pieces, named “The Carrie-program,” are inspired by the TV show “Sex and the City.”
While Zalando sunsetted Zircle, it still offers a pre-owned marketplace where customers can buy and sell second-hand fashion from each other, embedded into Zalando’s website.
