You have probably heard the phrase fast fashion before. The term refers to hyper modern clothes retailers such as Zara or Fashion. Powered by low costs and trendy styles, fast fashion has exploded in popularity in recent years. But how do they manage to undercut traditional retailers? What empowers these new fashion giants? Further what will the long term effects of this disruption be to the fashion industry?

A need for speed (and low prices)

The most important factor when talking about fast fashion is the speed. At the core of these companies' business model is a lightning fast production schedule. When new products can go from conception to available on line in a matter of weeks this gives these retailers an inherent advantage. With an ability to chase trends and ride waves far better than traditional retailers fast fashion brands have become favorites of young people. This is of course helped by the second most important factor powering fast fashions growth. Low prices. Generally speaking fast fashion is cheaper then traditional retailers and by far cheaper then the designer styles they copy.

These two factors are actually quite closely related as both are rooted in the way these clothes are made. For many retailers production schedules are based on weekly micro collections rather than seasonal collections. This means that clothes have to go from design to production far faster. But how is this achieved? How do these companies produce such massive stocks of ever newer clothing? The answer is multifaceted but centered on the labor.  Specifically underpaying labor. While advanced computerized logistics and cheap materials play an important role the biggest savings across the sector come from heavily underpaying the very people who create the clothes. The issue of underpaid labor is almost ubiquitous across the fashion industry but rarely is it as starkly revealed as in fast fashion. This recipe of cheap materials, cheap labor, and modern technology has allowed for the massive growth of fast fashion. 

However this recipe is missing a key ingredient. Marketing. While fast production is at the core of these brands in the end they make their money off their brand. While there will always be a market for cheap clothes what makes fast fashion unique is that they have made these cheap clothes hyper trendy and profitable. This is why the speed of production is so important. In the modern world new trends rise and fall at a breakneck pace and keeping up with these trends means life itself for these brands. From copying looks going viral on instagram to celebrity endorsements fast fashion at its best is a snapshot of what's popular that very moment. In this way fast fashion is for the people and by the people. What you like on instagram has an effect on what clothes are made over the next few weeks. 

Essentially these brands such as H&M or Asos have created a new niche in the fashion ecosystem. By appealing to younger consumers via low prices and straight from instagram designs these brands have built a new way of doing business. Gone are seasonal collections and auteur designers replaced by quick recreations of ever spasm of the zeitgeist. As if clothes designed by the gestalt fast fashion represents a certain democratization of the fashion industry. No longer is Gucci style hidden from the majority when you can find styles inspired by Gucci for far cheaper. Further taste making itself has become the responsibility of the public itself rather than the fashion elite. For the consumer gate keeping in fashion is weakening. At no other point in history has there been such an array of fashions and styles available cheaply and quickly. Powered by modern technology and logistics as well as unpaid labor fast fashion has made almost any style attainable by the masses. 

Hidden costs

However, that paints far to rosey of a picture of the modern fashion industry. It is critical to mention that while there are tremendous upsides to fast fashion as a consumer there are also hidden costs. For the people who actually make the clothes fast fashion is horrifically exploitative. From the factory workers to the designers to the environment itself fast fashion is a plague. From horrific working conditions to massive pollution (the garment industry is second to oil in emissions) damage is part and parcel to the existence of the modern fashion industry. Specifically fast fashion exacerbates these issues. With far greater material demands then traditional competitors fast fashion houses exert even greater pressure on both the environment and the human creators of these clothes. 

Even higher on the chain of production there is exploitation and abuses. It is exceedingly common to see brands such as Dolls Kill steal designs from smaller designers. Further fast fashions close relationships with instagram and influencers can reinforce problematic beauty standards and platform problematic people. Of course it is important to note as well that the people who benefit the most from fast fashion aren’t designers, workers, or even consumers. It’s the business people and executives running these brands that benefit the most. Not that it is especially different from traditional fashion, or really any business, in this regard. But it is important to understand the industry as a whole. While there are massive upsides they are tempered by ethical dilemmas at the heart of the industry. 

The damage done and the damage won

However these ethical dilemmas are not insurmountable. As global warming progresses radical changes will come to the fashion industry largely by necessity and when that happens I hope we can remember some of the lesser known strengths of fast fashion. Moving forward should mean moving ethically and while that may mean massive changes to the industry as a whole fast fashion has a number of lessons to teach future iterations. The centrality of the consumer as both tastemaker and proxy designer is innovation that the rest of the fashion industry struggles to understand. Decoupling aspects such as that from the hyper consumerist mindset behind fast fashion will be critical to the future of the fashion industry. However these lessons are not exclusive to the fashion industry. Fast fashions business model is innovative on almost every level and as such is an area rich for further study. We can all learn something from the cutting edge. 

However that leaves the question of what to do with fast fashion. What is the future of an industry built on ecological harm and labor injustices? The answer is we don’t know yet. Perhaps one of the brightest futures lies in localization. In the internet age the advice of buy local seems outdated. But the truth is that by spreading the purchasing power of a population across a number of small stores both online and in person we can reduce the monopolistic effects of large fast fashion houses. Shop small is a classic theme in ethically navigating capitalism however it is renewed in the internet age when instagram boutiques are a dime a dozen. Never has peoples reach to small businesses been this extensive. Hopefully this new found freedom can shake up an industry as old as fashion.

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