Pardon all this high-street love, but you have got to know about People! by Zara ^[2], the budget brand’s latest user-generated content project aimed at showcasing its customers’ astute sense of fashion.

Unveiled last month, People! invites Zara’s loyal fans to play fashion blogger and submit The Sartorialist-style photos of themselves wearing the latest wares from the store, for a chance to win €300 to spend on their latest collection. Each approved photo is called a “collaboration” with the brand, hinting at the very different direction that the company is taking compared to its rivals.

A winning entry to People! We could see why. Check out more photos below.

[View with PicLens]

If H&M is banking on celebrities to generate buzz and bring people into the stores (which proves highly effective as well, no doubt about that), Zara is doing quite the opposite, relying on real people to show potential customers how high-street merchandise can transform average Janes into Jumeirah Janes – who, by the way, have become almost extinct following the recession.

The Spanish retail powerhouse has been known for its “aversion” to advertising – a rather uncommon way of doing business in the fashion world – and funneling its budgets instead into expanding its retail footprint.

This is why everybody knows the brand. It may not have huge billboards with covered up supermodels or yearly collaborations with the biggest names in the industry, but it has penetrated that all important consumer consciousness nonetheless.

At the end of the day, that’s the bottom line that everyone in the business is after. We just admire how the folks at Zara managed to think of a standout way of getting there.

To collaborate with the brand, here’s what you have to do:

• You have to create a look with at least 2 main items from Zara’s SPRING SUMMER 2011 collection.
• Sign up for PEOPLE! ^[3] and upload photos of your creations from your user account.
• Each week a new selection of photos for this season´s collection will be published on the Web.
• If your photo is selected you will receive 300€ for your collaboration (or the equivalent in the currency of your country).

All photos courtesy of Zara People!