Zara, Cos, Gap: Mass market brands use luxury tactics

Once synonymous with the most affordable price points, high-street labels have been ramping up their strategic identity shift over the past two years, redefining their position in the fashion hierarchy. Disrupted by the worldwide domination of Chinese ultra-fast fashion giants like Shein and Temu, traditional mass-market brands are no longer the go-to destination for the cheapest clothes. In January, Bernstein Research reported that Temu had outpaced Amazon as the world’s most used global e-commerce platform. Even though Shein and Temu have recently reportedly raised their U.S. prices due to tariffs, their prices remain so low that mass-market fashion brands cannot compete ethically. In response, they’re having to adapt their aesthetics and marketing to reposition themselves as relevant. The result has been a move to luxury industry practices. Borrowing from luxury’s playbook Top fashion designers are taking on more significant roles at mass-market brands. Rather than simply co-creating limited-time collections, they're now being appointed as permanent creative directors who shape the brand’s entire identity. Additionally, even regular collections without designer involvement are being elevated through high-end marketing campaigns shot by renowned fashion photographers and styled by industry-leading stylists. Cos: Runway shows and celebrity front rows Take Cos, which is on the more expensive end of the high-street scale, long the minimalist’s favorite. The H&M-owned brand debuted a high-production runway show in Athens last month that resembled what European luxury houses do. It also boasted a frow of industry tastemakers like blogger Tamu McPherson, and actors Jodie Turner-Smith, Adrien Brody, and Gemma Chan. Cos recently jumped 11 positions in the Lyst Index, demonstrating strong consumer demand for fashion that offers luxury aesthetics at more accessible price points. Zara’s premium retail experience Zara, meanwhile, is doubling down on its aspirational appeal with curated, gallery-like flagship stores, such as in Paris, China’s Nanjing, and Coruña in Spain. The Spanish brand has been quietly recalibrating its all over the world, stepping away from its fast-fashion roots to flirt with the codes of premium retail. This is being done through curated capsule collections like “Zara Originals” and high-profile designer collaborations, most recently with Samuel Ross. And it’s working: Zara is Inditex’s biggest revenue generator, with sales rising 6.6% YoY to 27.77 billion euros ($30.11 billion) in 2024. Meanwhile, immersive in-store concepts such as Zacaffè (Inditex’s first ever in-store coffee shop) reflect a growing emphasis on lifestyle and experience, placing Zara in dialogue with luxury’s evolving retail language. With a slick, editorial-led digital presence and minimal reliance on traditional advertising, Zara is cultivating a more aspirational allure, one that resonates with global consumers seeking style, substance, and status without the luxury markup. Designer collaborations with mass appeal Swedish high-street player & Other Stories frequently releases fashion collaborations. When Jing Daily asked the company whether it intends to pivot, a spokesperson said in a statement, “At this time, we are not looking to reposition & Other Stories towards luxury fashion. Our focus remains on offering quality, fashion-forward collections at an accessible price point, with attention to detail and craftsmanship.” Luxury houses describe themselves as being dedicated to high-quality craft — the lines are blurring. Gap’s design renaissance Even Gap, which has struggled to regain a footing in China, hired American designer Zac Posen to revamp its identity, and tap into a more style-forward, elevated consumer. But are these moves genuine reinvention, or just smart marketing? As Emily Gordon-Smith, sustainability lead at Stylus, explains, the rise of data-driven design and algorithmic recommendations has led to a creative crisis. “Homogeny on the high street has become a real issue,” she says. “We’ve basically become trapped in a vicious circle of algorithmic recommendations encouraging aesthetic sameness, which is then perpetuated by data-led design. The result is a visual echo chamber.” In that context, luxury’s allure isn’t just about price, it’s about design credibility. Designers like Samuel Ross (A-Cold-Wall*) collaborating with Zara, and Natacha Ramsay-Levi reinventing heritage comfort brand Ecco, signal a deeper shift: high street players are borrowing from the creative systems of luxury houses. Even Clarks, the face of no-nonsense, good quality British footwear, tapped Martine Rose as its first-ever guest creative director. The result? Loafers and Oxfords fit for a Paris showroom, but accessible to a larger, mainstream consumer base. The strategy is clear: add an aesthetic edge to counter sameness, and capture consumers seeking design integrity at a digestible price. “Smart brands are … investing in creative direction that sets them apart,” Gordon-Smith says. “So, in part, this push into premium is about re-evaluating human creativity, seeking out design that enthrals, and celebrating aesthetic independence.” More sustainable? Then there is the issue of sustainability. As shoppers reassess their priorities in a time of economic tightening and post-pandemic reflection, the desire for fewer and better purchases is rising. “Buying better and buying less … is also a very real thing,” Gordon-Smith says. “Not least for sustainability reasons, but also consumers thinking ‘budget living,’ and this is manifesting in ongoing interest in timeless quality pieces that are beautifully designed.” Whether these upgraded collections from high-street brands are truly more sustainable, or merely repositioned products, is still up for debate. But what’s clear is that the race for the “priced-out luxury consumer” is on. And with traditional luxury brands facing a backlash over price hikes, and fast-fashion companies’ reputations being put under the microscope, mass-market players may be well positioned to capture a new, design-hungry demographic.

Why high street brands are mimicking luxury houses

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Why high street brands are mimicking luxury houses