What Is Fast Fashion?
- Sejal Butani
- Aug 3, 2019
- 2 min read
Fast fashion is the term used to describe clothing designs that move quickly from the catwalk to stores to meet new trends. The collections are often based on designs presented at Fashion Week events. Fast fashion allows mainstream consumers to purchase trendy clothing at an affordable price.
Fast fashion describes clothing designs that move quickly from the catwalk to retail stores to meet new trends.
Fast fashion competes with traditional fashion houses that continue to introduce new fashion lines on a seasonal basis.
Innovations in supply chain management among fashion retailers make fast fashion possible.
Leaders in the fast fashion industry include Zara, H&M, UNIQLO, Gap, and Forever 21.
Understanding Fast Fashion
Shopping for clothing was once considered an event. Consumers would save up to buy clothing at certain times of the year. But that changed in the late 1990s, as shopping became a form of entertainment and demand for clothing increased. Enter fast fashion, the cheaper, trendier clothing that allowed consumers to feel as though they were wearing the same clothing that was on the runway at fashion shows.
Fast fashion is made possible by innovations in supply chain management (SCM) among fashion retailers. Its goal is to produce articles of clothing quickly that are cost-efficient. These clothes respond to fast-shifting consumer demands. The assumption is that consumers want high fashion at a low price.
Fast Fashion Leaders
Spanish chain Zara is all but synonymous with fast fashion, serving as an exemplar of how to cut the time between design, production, and delivery.
Other big names in fast fashion include H&M of Sweden, UNIQLO of Japan, GAP and Forever 21 of the United States, and Topshop of England.
More traditional department stores such as Macy's, J. C. Penney, and Kohl's in the U.S. have all taken a page from Zara's book, shortening design and production times to better compete in the market
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