How Zalando connects with streetwear culture at the source

At Zalando, we see Streetwear as more than a fashion category — it’s a cultural movement rooted in community and connection. To be a true destination for streetwear, we believe we must do more than offer the latest products; we must engage with the culture at its source. Our latest initiative, The Corner, is the next step in our journey to celebrate local streetwear communities across Europe.

A strategic focus on community and culture

Over the past two years, our focus on Streetwear as a cultural phenomenon has delivered substantial results. The category is attracting a significant share of fashion-forward Gen Z customers, who also like to explore our various offerings like Fashion, Designer, Sports, or Beauty, and mix and match different styles and price points in their looks. This makes the Streetwear category an important contributor to Zalando’s strategic focus on offering the most inspiring and convenient one-stop destination for fashion and lifestyle shopping.

Earning credibility from the ground up

Our Streetwear strategy is built on a simple premise: credibility is earned, not bought. The YouGov survey we commissioned last year confirmed our core belief in Streetwear: community — friends, family, and local scenes — can be an even more powerful source of style inspiration than social media or celebrities.

This insight was the driving force behind our "Cultural Ties" project — a first-of-its-kind exploration of the communities, styles and cultures that are driving streetwear forward in some of the most influential European cities: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm and Warsaw. The Cultural Ties successfully connected offline events with exclusive product drops and localised content. The positive reception from brands and customers proved our model: to connect with the streetwear audience, we had to show up authentically in their environment. This success has directly led to new brand partnerships, fueling an ever more exciting and exclusive assortment for our customers. 

This approach to building up credibility has enabled us to launch highly sought-after brands like Nike ACG and The New Originals, and deepen our relationships with existing partners through amazing collaborations, including Converse x Feng Chen Wang, Timberland x Veneda Carter, and ASICS x Cecilie Bahnsen. Our curated selection has also featured exclusive collections such as The North Face Urban Exploration, Salomon XT Whisper Ama Lou, and ASICS SportStyle Curated by Kiko, with exciting new brands like Cléon Manufacture launching soon.
 

Introducing ‘The Corner’: a hub for local culture

Building on this momentum, this year we created The Corner — a series of hyper-local events and digital content around Europe, designed for cultural exchange. This is not a one-size-fits-all marketing campaign, but a curated reflection of each market’s unique streetwear scene. The Corner highlights Zalando’s credible streetwear assortment and local trends, but, more importantly, it brings together different aspects of the streetwear culture, creating an intersection where music, fashion and culture collide.

In Berlin, we partnered with community radio station Refuge Worldwide for a three-day pop-up showroom and community hub, featuring workshops, DJ sets, and live shows.

For our community in Belgium, we created an immersive pop-up booth at Les Ardentes music festival in Liège, the country's largest Gen Z festival.

Our activations in the Nordics were just as tailored to the local culture: In Sweden, we launched a long-form docu-series featuring six of the country's most exciting creative voices, combined with a physical activation at the Way Out West music festival in Gothenburg. In Denmark, we created a five-episode podcast series featuring conversations with relevant local voices from the streetwear community, supported by a skateboarding event and an evening that brought together the local streetwear communities around music.

Last but not least, in the upcoming event in Amsterdam, we’re co-creating a street market takeover with three local talents, bringing together a vibrant mix of streetwear, music, and food. 

By investing in local ecosystems, we move beyond being just a platform. Our goal is to be a genuine supporter of Streetwear culture, helping to celebrate the creativity and passion that make streetwear a defining force in fashion today.