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A studio collection seems to run counterintuitive to Zara's business strategy. The brand is known for cycling new pieces into its store twice a week and reacts to trends extremely quickly — see a style in a trend report on Monday, shop it in Zara on Thursday. This system has worked incredibly well for Zara: just last week, founder Amancio Ortega usurped Bill Gates as the richest person in the world for a brief moment. The studio collection, which has been available on the women's side for several seasons now, is Zara's play at slow fashion. But unlike Zara's studio collection for women, which largely consists of timeless monochromatic blouses, button-up shirts, and skirts, the men's offerings are a bit more daring.
The main idea driving the studio collection is that everything is turned up a notch, a Zara spokesperson tells Racked at the retailer's showroom. "Elevated tailoring, fabrics, and feel," she says. The first men's collection is predominantly made up of three fabrics: corduroy, wool, and a silk-cotton blend. A plaid blazer, peaked-lapel topcoat, and shacket come in a nubby boucle wool that feels like it'll keep you warm throughout the winter. The corduroy and wool feel similarly substantial.
There are also several suiting options, all reasonably priced, as well as plenty of fall sweaters including turtlenecks, boat necks and plain ol' crew necks. Zara intends for the collection to be limited in styles and also in quantities.
Zara is not the first retailer of its breed to launch a studio collection — Topman has a similar runway collection with elevated styles. Much like Topman, Zara will presumably use the brand to add a luxury aspect to its business. However, as the Zara spokesman tells us, it's up for the customer to decide whether or not it hangs around.
Certain styles from the collection will roll out on Zara's website and in select stores starting November 1st.