How Will Zara Mark 50? With Models and a Disco Classic

Fresh off a string of buzzy collaborations, Zara is pulling out all the stops to mark its first 50 years in business. At the center of the celebrations is an epic video, “50 Years, 50 Icons,” by Steven Meisel, which will be released on May 9—50 years to the day from when Amancio Ortega opened the first Zara store in A Coruña, in Galicia, Spain. By 2011, with the establishment of an outpost in Australia, the company had a brick-and-mortar presence on five continents.

Also representing many regions of the globe are the models in the video. The gathering of so many superstars in one place feels important, even historic. Perhaps only Meisel, who has long championed models and has a photographic memory of fashion, could have pulled it off. “There’s nobody who could do this the way that Steven does,” said Christy Turlington Burns on a call. “I’ve been involved in a few different special kinds of cover groupings, small and large, but I think this was probably the biggest that has ever happened. We didn’t know the full casting until we were there, so you just kept turning a corner and seeing somebody else.”

“I just knew it would be like a class reunion, while at the same time, I’d be meeting some people for the first time,” added Linda Evangelista, who recently starred in the campaign for Meisel’s Zara capsule. “You just wanted to be with everybody and get in as much as you could.”

Shot in black-and-white, the models move and sing along to Donna Summer’s 1977 disco classic “I Feel Love.” “I had a good chuckle when I received the lyrics to the song,” said Evangelista. “I listened to that song a thousand times on full blast dancing in my basement. For me, it was such a good memory. I remember my cousin Helen came to visit from New York, and she had great hair, like ’80s hair, that I then emulated—and the way she was dressed. And she introduced me to Donna Summer and gave me the albums.”

More than a chart-topper, the use of electronic technology in the track’s production marked a sea change in the music industry. In fashion, Zara became part of a revolution that today we take for granted, high-low dressing, by offering fashion at an accessible price. “I know they call it fast fashion, but I keep my pieces,” noted Evangelista. “I keep them and rewear them—there’s nothing fast about them for me. One of my favorite pairs of jeans is Zara.” Turlington, who says she’s not a shopper, appreciates Zara’s “classic pieces.” “They do look well-made, and I feel like they stand out and people look fashionable and effortless and there’s an ease about them.”

In “50 Years, 50 Icons,” the models wear pieces from the company’s 128-piece anniversary collection, which feels distinctly elevated in its tailored minimalism. The clothes are rendered in black and white (like the accompanying video) and inspired by the idea of celebratory tuxedo dressing—which is a timely coincidence given the opening of “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at The Met. There’s also a collectible anniversary T-shirt featuring a portrait of the 50 models. Of the feel-good clip, Turlington Burns said: “It was a beautiful choice of song because the world was already starting to feel pretty dark when we shot it…. Choosing positivity, we have to do it. Any reminder for finding light in our day-to-day and the world right now is really important. That’s a beautiful kind of positively infectious energy to put out in the world.”

Available from Friday, May 9, the anniversary collection ranges in price from about $26 to $459.

Swipe left to see Zara’s 50th-anniversary collection.