Brands
Zara turns 50 in style with star-studded collab
MUMBAI: Fifty and fabulous! Zara is marking its golden anniversary not with a cake but with couture. To celebrate turning 50, the Spanish high-street giant has enlisted 50 of the world’s most renowned creatives, from Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss to Annie Leibovitz, Pedro Almodóvar and Norman Foster, to design one-of-a-kind pieces that will hit stores on 6 October.
The capsule spans jackets, bags, sleeping bags, chairs and even a pet carrier, each reflecting the signature spirit of its creator. Photographer David Bailey reimagines the aviator jacket, Pat Mcgrath puts her artistry into a makeup bag, Marc Newson crafts a set of sleek glasses, while Steven Meisel designs a collector’s pet carrier.
“It is an honour that these artists have chosen to mark our birthday with us,” said Inditex non-executive chair Marta Ortega Pérez. “They share the same passions Zara has had since the beginning: quality of craft and the joy of design.”
The project isn’t just about fashion fantasy. All proceeds will go to Women’s Earth Alliance, with Zara also donating 20,000 euros to 50 charities selected by the collaborators.
Paris Fashion Week is playing host to the celebrations with a pop-up at 40 Avenue Georges V from 2–5 October, curated by Sarah Andelman. Visitors can view the entire collection, attend talks with designers such as Marc Newson, and soak in the atmosphere, soundtracked by Michel Gaubert and fuelled by We Are Ona’s café.
Zara, founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega in A Coruña, has grown from a single Spanish store into a global cultural force. Half a century later, its anniversary is doubling as a masterclass in the art of collaboration.
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
