What Is Fast Fashion?
Fast
Fast Fashion is all about making cheap, fast, trendy clothes. It is called FAST fashion for 2 reasons; 1) it is made incredibly quick and 2) it is not going to last you long (you are going to be done using it fast).
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So Why Is Fast Fashion So Popular?
Fast Fashion allows retailers to democratize high fashion by knocking off designer brands at scale. The point is to feel luxurious without having to pay the price.
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Zara pioneered the fast fashion industry. Normally, brands would spend months designing lines and would release their clothes little by little. This process would take about 21 months. The process included:
- Design
- Sourcing
- Manufacturing
- Distributing
Though, in the 80's, Zara changed the game. They could have clothes out in 4 months and they used 2 techniques:
1) Quick Response Manufacturing
- Knock Off A Design
- Manufacture
- Distribute
- Only Make More If Popular
2) Dynamic Assortment
- If People Are Buying It, Sell More Of It
- Sell New Things Every Day
- Instead Of A Few Seasons A Year, There Are New Clothes Every Week
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How Is This Legal?
Counterfeits are not the same as knock-offs. Knock-offs are legal because the copy the style of the design but not the symbols of the designer company. Counterfeits copy the product and the logos of the brand (illegal).
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Why Does This Matter?
Fast Fashion means that the clothes are not durable. They are made quick and are not eco-friendly. This leads to the consumer using the clothes for half as long. People throw out their clothes so often!