Zara’s ecommerce images are something pretty much anyone can recognise. Their ‘weird’ poses are often parodied online recapturing some of the specific angles which are specific to the Zara adverts.
I personally have always found the way Zara captures their clothing pretty genius. They’ve made themselves recognisable not just amongst the other high street retailers, but cemented their look in the fashion industry as a whole. The truth is that unless you are a very big fan of a specific brand and can identify all of their clothing, the vast majority of the adverts and photographs look exactly the same. Zara doesn’t have that issue. Their photographs are set apart from their competitors and frankly, all these online parodies are just helping them. Name another brand who’s simple e-commerce shoots are talked about? Exactly.
Zara has introduced a new take – mirror selfies. I personally haven’t seen a retailer of Zara’s scale use this approach before *but correct me if someone else was first*
Here Are The Three Reasons Why This Is A Great Business Move-
They Feel Like A Review
These types of photos have a very strong User Generated Content (UGC) feel. UGC is when brands send their products to content creators who in turn showcase themselves using these products through their medium. Due to the height of influences and frequent use of social platforms, as a society we may be more willing to believe types of reviews than a review the company highlights on their website, due to the authenticity aspect. Compared to it’s rivals, Zara isn’t necessarily known for sending out PR parcels to content creators and the vast majority of Zara hauls online are privately bought. Especially since the vast majority of their photographs still feel quite editorial, the contrast adds to the authenticity. Adding this influencer, Pinterest girl feeling to their website gets a yes from me.
OOTD
The beloved and trustworthy Outfit Of The Day actually became a thing around 2012 (which explains by OOTD blog posts featuring a Zoella t-shirt). However even though it is over a decade old, OOTD doesn’t feel like a trend or as though it is dated – rather an easy and effortless option to show a cute fit. In a large number of cases, the outfits are shown through mirror selfies/videos. Zara showcasing their clothing in the same way is very smart, as once again it feels authentic and as though the model wearing it styled the outfit out of items she already had in her wardrobe.
Relatability
Despite being a big fan of Zara’s unique take on shoots, they feel pretty unrelatable. Just like any campaign with airbrushed models in extravagant locations. A lift mirror selfie to show a cute crop top and trousers (as seen in the ad for this organza flower top) feels like something you or I would do. It feels real, it feels realistic and taps into the ‘girlhood’ of the internet. This also links back to the first point of these images feeling like a review- there is a subconscious message that the model herself feels comfortable and great in these clothes, because that’s when we would take these types of images ourselves.
Ultimately, this is quite a fresh take from such a huge brand. We are used to seeing mirror selfies on social platforms or from smaller businesses, so it’s nice to have a breath of fresh air. What do you think?
K x