| Requirement | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aspect ratio | 1:1.44 (width × height) | Non-negotiable. This is the single most common rejection cause — square images fail. |
| Best practice size | 1801 × 2600 px | Zalando's stated best practice. |
| Minimum size | 762 × 1100 px | Designer brands must supply at least 1800 × 2600 px. |
| Orientation | Upright (portrait) | Landscape is not accepted. |
| File type | JPG / JPEG | |
| Maximum file size | 20 MB | |
| Colour mode | sRGB |
| Requirement | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Packshot | #FFFFFF · R255 G255 B255 | Mandatory. Not off-white, not light grey. |
| Model view | #F1F1F1 · R241 G241 B241 | Stated best practice — a soft grey, not white. |
| Requirement | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel, Kids, Lingerie, Sports | 3 compliant images | |
| Shoes, Bags, Jewellery | 3 compliant images | |
| Underwear, Hosiery, Socks | 2 compliant images | |
| Beauty, Toys, Electronics | 1 compliant image |
Zalando splits imagery into two jobs, and confusing them is the fastest way to get an article rejected.
#FFFFFF background. No visible mannequin, no hanger.#F1F1F1 background.For apparel you need one compliant primary packshot or front crop — this becomes the catalogue view, the image shoppers see in the grid — plus two further compliant images.
The trap
A model view shot on a white background cannot serve as the front crop. Sellers who shoot everything on white and hope one frame will do double duty end up with no valid catalogue view at all.
These are published requirements, not suggestions, and they are the part almost no third-party guide covers:
Body cropping is allowed as long as the article stays recognisable. A knee-up crop on a jacket is fine; a crop that hides half the garment is not.
Full-body style views are the exception — those cannot be cropped. The product may be partially covered by a pose, but it must remain identifiable.
Zalando's prohibited list includes “poor quality AI generation”.
The wording matters. The objection is to poor quality, not to AI itself. Zalando is not banning synthetic imagery — it is refusing imagery that fails its quality bar, whatever produced it. In practice the rejections cluster around the same defects: warped hands and seams, inconsistent garment detail between views, fabric that does not fall the way the real product does, and lighting that does not match the rest of the catalogue.
The practical standard is simple: the image has to represent the actual product accurately, at catalogue quality, in the correct aspect ratio and background. Meet that and the production method is not the issue.
#FFFFFFZalando requires a 1:1.44 upright aspect ratio (width to height). Square or landscape images are not accepted. Best practice size is 1801 × 2600 px; the minimum is 762 × 1100 px, rising to 1800 × 2600 px for designer brands.
Packshots require a mandatory pure white background, #FFFFFF (R255 G255 B255). Model views use a soft grey, #F1F1F1 (R241 G241 B241), as best practice. A model view shot on white cannot be used as the catalogue front crop.
Apparel, kids, lingerie, sports, shoes, bags and jewellery need 3 compliant images. Underwear, hosiery and socks need 2. Beauty, toys and electronics need 1.
Zalando's prohibited list names 'poor quality AI generation' rather than AI generation as such. Images must accurately represent the actual product at catalogue quality and meet every technical requirement — aspect ratio, background and resolution — regardless of how they were produced.
Body cropping is allowed as long as the article remains recognisable. Full-body style views cannot be cropped. The product may be partially covered by the pose but must stay identifiable.
We produce on-model and packshot imagery to marketplace specification — correct ratio, correct background, consistent across every SKU. Send one flat product photo and see a finished frame before you commit.
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