How to make an American fashion brand

Social media popularity, not sewing capability, is the secret ingredient

Two summers ago Lara Pia Arrobio was working as a designer for the clothing company Reformation when she was recruited by Zara, the fast-fashion behemoth, for a job at its headquarters in Spain.

“I got wasted with the HR girl after my interview,” Ms Arrobio recalled recently. “She said, ‘You’re going to gain weight. All the American girls eat so much pan con tomate and drink so much beer.’”

Ms Arrobio embraced this possible destiny. Recently split from a boyfriend, she envisioned falling in love with an attractive Spanish man and settling down in La Coruna, the port city where