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zalando
2020–2023 - Zalando Culture Trend Strategy / Creative Direction / Cultural Intelligence / Organizational Design
Transforming Europe’s largest fashion marketplace into a destination for cultural inspiration.
In 2021, Zalando was Europe’s largest fashion marketplace, connecting more than 50 million customers across 25 markets. But its cultural presence existed largely outside its own platform. Our ambition was to move beyond commerce, establishing Zalando as a destination for cultural inspiration while building the internal capabilities to sustain that transformation.
❋ THE CHALLENGE
Despite its enormous commercial reach, Zalando had yet to establish a distinctive cultural voice within its own ecosystem.
Before 2022, Zalando's cultural presence lived almost entirely on social media. The platform itself — the app, the site, the in-product experience — was pure commerce. No editorial. No inspiration layer. For a company connecting 50+ million customers to fashion across 25 markets, that was a gap that was starting to matter.
so HOW does a fashion marketplace become ❋ a TRUE DESTINATION FOR CULTURAL INSPIRATION?
TheRE WAS A DEEP HUNGER to redefine Zalando’s role in people’s lives, evolving from a place to buy fashion into a platform where people could also discover what was shaping it.
❋ THE OUTCOME
As part of a small senior internal team working directly with C-suite and SVP leadership, we developed the strategic case and creative vision that contributed to Zalando’s acquisition of a majority stake in Highsnobiety.
The ambition extended beyond a commercial partnership. Highsnobiety brought editorial expertise, cultural credibility, and a deeply engaged community, creating an opportunity for Zalando to establish a more meaningful presence in contemporary culture.
The work required articulating not only the business opportunity, but also the cultural rationale for bringing these two organizations together.
❋ CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE
Following the acquisition, I was appointed to lead cultural trend strategy across Zalando, developing initiatives that would connect the organization more directly with emerging cultural movements, communities, and perspectives.
The ambition was to make cultural intelligence an ongoing organizational capability rather than an occasional source of inspiration.
❋ THE culture forecast
I developed and hosted a monthly Culture Forecast, bringing emerging trends, cultural shifts, and new perspectives to teams across Zalando.
At its peak, the program attracted up to 250 participants per session, spanning marketing, buying, strategy, leadership, and Highsnobiety.
❋ THE CULTURE AMBASSADOR ROUNDTABLE
I conceived and led the Culture Ambassador Roundtable, a biannual qualitative research initiative bringing cultural pioneers into direct conversation with Zalando.
The inaugural session, held in Berlin, gathered six voices spanning music, fashion, activism, community organizing, and design. Through facilitated foresight workshops, we explored emerging cultural movements, shifting attitudes, and new possibilities for Zalando’s content and cultural strategy. The insights informed the organization’s approach to cultural engagement, grounding strategic decisions in perspectives from the communities shaping contemporary culture.
