"Fast Fashion" is a phrase that has become a controversial topic in the fashion world.
Although fast fashion has been around for quite some time, it wasn't until 2019 that it was as widely talked about as it has become. In the actual fashion world, fast fashion has been prevalent, quietly in the background. Now post quarantine, we have entered a new world where fast fashion is more significant than ever.
During and after quarantine, the term fast fashion was thrown around quite often. Fast fashion was first heard in the 1990s when Zara first made itself known in New York. The New York Times coined that phrase when Zara described how it was their mission to make garments in only 15 days. Zara came in and changed the game. Zara and brands like it were able to sell fashion trends at a record rate with affordable pricing. This can be very alluring for the average person who is not immersed in fashion culture.
Fast fashion is just a catchy term for a part of the industry constantly evolving too fast to be sustainable. American people are often looking for trendy clothes to stay in style. More often than not, they want those clothes to be cheap and affordable. Stores like Zara were now making this a possibility. How could you say no? Fast fashion is like fast food; bad for you but quick and easy to get a hold of. The more people shop fast fashion, the faster fashion treads are moving to keep up. Most people do not know where the first true fast-fashion retailer started, but Zara and H&M are well-known. If I'm honest, I would have never guessed H&M was a fast-fashion retailer. How can you avoid being in the fast fashion cycle if you don't even know which retailers to stay away from?
Being trendy and fashionable has become a massive part of early adulthood since TikTok and Instagram became prevalent in our society. I noticed that people wanted to be like the influencers they say on your page or Instagram feed, especially during quarantine and after that. Young people are buying clothes from sites like Shien, Rowe, and Zara to have access to the kind of clothes that will give them that Instagram model looks cheap. Fast fashion's most prominent target is our younger generations. Younger generations are targeted because they are susceptible to wanting to be on-trend and fit in with their peers. It's hard to follow trends when you can't afford big-name brand clothes. The only way they know how to keep up is to go the Shien and Zara route. Stores like these give them access that they usually wouldn't have.
Then when young people see influencers like Charlie D'Amelio and Addison Rae wear these fast fashion brands, it makes it all the more enticing to them. Our generation tends to follow what they see, so they don't see anything wrong when they see their favorite celebrities supporting fast fashion. "If Addison Rae can wear Shien, so can I." Sites like Shien and Zara are an easy and accessible way to look on-trend. I have been a part of this as well. It's easy to see cute clothes that you can afford and not buy them. And that's how many people feel, younger ones especially.
Fast fashion is not going away anytime soon but, we need to see it for what it is. This is an unsustainable industry that contributes to a large portion of the earth's pollution, and it also has adverse effects on the fashion industry as a whole. As long as they target younger men and women, they will have a foothold in the fashion world. By making people aware of what's going hopefully soon the process of leaving fast fashion alone.
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