The Confusing Case of and wander x Zara
Japanese outerwear brand and wander has relentlessly honed its sublime yet functional hiking gear, utilizing recycled polyester, organic cotton and other eco-conscious textiles. It is devoted to quality, a fact that makes and wander's new collaboration with Zara all the more puzzling.
Inspired by the colors of a sunny snow day, and wander and Zara have appropriately created a collection of winter-wear. When it releases on January 16, the and wander x Zara collab will include a mix of slope-ready garments like waterproof nylon jackets and anorak fleeces alongside cutesy après ski accessories like cushioned tote bags and puffer headscarves.
The goal of the collection, it seems, is to offer and wander’s quality and durability at Zara's prices. If that sounds contradictory, well, that's because it is.
and wander's founders, Keita Ikeuchi and Mihoko Mori, met while working as designers for Issey Miyake. The two quickly bonded over their shared obsession with the outdoors, and teamed up to launch an outdoor-focused brand centered on technical details and useful materials like quick-drying Polartec and ripstop nylon. Their attention to purposeful (and often expensive) fabrication seems quite at odds with Zara’s inclination towards lower-cost designs.
The founders’ intentionality, meant to encourage an appreciation of nature, exists in direct opposition to Zara's trend-focused approach, making this collaboration feel odd in a way that recalls the conundrum of the Studio Nicholson Zara collab.
On one hand, it's nice to see an indie fashion brand get more recognition. No one can deny the financial upside to collaborating with a brand as big as Zara, which reported an increase in sales at the start of Q4 2024, a relative rarity amidst greater industry slowdown. Can we really fault a small brand for expanding?
On the flip side, and wander's nature-conscious ethos is what makes it such a refreshing fashion disrupter. This collaboration risks ruffling the brand's existing MO.
It’s great that more people will be able to access and wander's innovative outdoor wear, but the often concerning practices of fast fashion giants make it hard to reconcile its Zara collab as a total win.
