In the “post-golden era”, where is the way out for fast fashion?
In the first half of 2023, fast fashion is making a comeback. Byte has deployed fast fashion twice in a row, established a self-operated clothing team, and recently launched a store called “Feiyun Zhishang” on Douyin APP; Taobao launched its own fast fashion clothing offline and online Store “ifashion”; JD.com and Pinduoduo also have relevant layouts at home and abroad.
What exactly is the clichéd “fast fashion”? Fast fashion, which meets the needs of consumers to the greatest extent, is a product of the joint influence of the four major social trends of globalization, democratization, rejuvenation and networking. The withdrawal of some fast fashion brands from China and the multiple closures of other fast fashion brands seem to mark the end of the “golden era”. But can fast fashion, which has recently been “revitalized” by e-commerce giants, usher in the next growth in the uncertain economic cycle?
At a time when “sustainable fashion” is becoming more and more popular, can “fast fashion” make a comeback?
In fact, this term originated from “Fast Fashion” in Europe in the 20th century. The designs of the current season’s fashion week are quickly brought to the store at the cheapest production cost, allowing customers to quickly capture the latest international fashion trends. . In the United States, “fast fashion” is called “Speed to Market”, and the British “Guardian” created a new word “McFashion”, which refers to “selling” fashion like McDonald’s. Today, “fast fashion” provides currently popular styles and elements, characterized by low prices, large styles, and small quantities, stimulating consumer interest and maximizing consumer demand. It can be said that fast fashion is the product of the joint influence of the four major social trends of globalization, democratization, youthfulness and networking.
Fast fashion was proposed in the 1950s. Clothing retailers imitated the fashion trend elements in high-end fashion shows as quickly as possible, redesigned and produced them, sold them to the public at an approachable price, and benefited from it. The rapid growth of fast fashion styles in the clothing retail industry is inseparable from the impact of changes in the social environment. The polarization of society has exacerbated the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Low-income people will pay more attention to affordable products. At this time, fast fashion brand clothing has emerged. The characteristics of these new types of clothing are diverse styles, rapid updates, and low prices. . The above features meet the consumer demand of the people to a certain extent and greatly stimulate consumers’ desire to buy.
Since then, fast fashion has evolved with the times of “people and life” and has experienced different stages of development.
Faster than fast, the golden age of “fast fashion”
2000-2010 is an important period for fast fashion brands to first enter the Chinese market and develop rapidly. The first choice is to enter Shanghai, the gathering place of Chinese fashion. In 2002, Japan’s Uniqlo opened China’s first two stores in Shanghai and officially entered China; in 2005, MUJI opened a store on Nanjing West Road in Shanghai, bringing the Japanese minimalist lifestyle to mainland China; in 2006 In 2007, ZARA opened an offline store on Nanjing West Road in Shanghai; in 2007, H&M also officially entered the Chinese market, opening its first store on Huaihai Road; in the same year, C&A from the Netherlands opened its first physical store in Lujiazui Super Brand Mall; in 2008, Marks & Spencer in the UK It also opened its first mainland store on Nanjing West Road; in 2010, GAP, a representative of American fast fashion, opened four offline stores in Beijing and Shanghai at the same time.
As fast fashion giants such as H&M, Zara, Gap, and Forever 21 have entered the Chinese market, they have attracted countless young people. In 2013, the sales of major fast fashion brands continued to rise, and their stores grew rapidly and occupied shopping malls in major cities, ushering in the golden age of fast fashion in China.
The reason behind the rapid development of fast fashion is the rapid response of design and production. This is also an important difference between fast fashion retailers and non-fast fashion brands. Fast fashion brands optimize the supply chain in order to quickly We can design and manufacture clothing that closely follows the fashion trends locally and at low cost, attract mainstream consumers at lower prices, and shorten the product launch cycle. Taking ZARA as an example, the ultra-fast supply chain model can be said to be a hybrid model, which includes both traditional outsourcing processes and the company’s internal integration of upstream and downstream production processes. Under the constraints of small batch production, ZARA adopts vertically integrated production for the styles that are most sensitive to new trends. The core design and production are all completed within ZARA, from quality to speed. There are very good controls. ZARA outsources the design part to suppliers close to the market, achieving high timeliness and achieving a relative balance between fast and fashionable. Low-cost production reflects the “affordable” nature of ZARA fashion. Finally, ZARA’s own factories are highly automated and specialized according to clothing types, and focus on the capital-intensive aspects of the production process, such as style design and tailoring. , processing and inspection, etc. The construction of an extremely fast supply chain on this basis places extremely high demands on the connectivity and information processing capabilities of all links.
Success or failure Xiao He, the end of “fast fashion”
Today, the world consumes 80 billion pieces of clothing every year, an increase of nearly 400% from 30 years ago. �Some fast fashion brands have as many as 18 new series of products every year, while Zara can develop 40,000 new pieces of clothing every year, and actually launches 12,000-20,000 new clothes, with an average of more than 30 styles every day. This has, to a certain extent, created tremendous pressure in terms of resource consumption. Therefore, after the rapid development of fast fashion and the expansion of business territory, fast fashion retail has not been able to continue to expand in China. Fast fashion giants have reduced and closed offline stores in recent years.
For example, the Spanish fast fashion brand Mango no longer operates offline stores in Beijing after closing its Beijing Gemdale Center and Xihongmen Huiju stores, and its stores in Guangzhou, Xi’an and Hohhot have also ceased operations. Currently, Mango only has one store in Yantai Joy City still in operation. In fact, Mango fell into recession very early in China. From 2013 to 2015, the number of stores dropped rapidly from more than 200 to 61. Mango has plans to “give up” on the Chinese market. Its CEO Toni Ruiz stated in an interview with Reuters in March 2023 that the brand will no longer prioritize this market in the next three years. As early as 2021, Bershka, Pull&Bear and Stradivarius under the Inditex Group closed all physical stores in China. From July 31, 2022, the online stores of these three brands will cease sales, marking their withdrawal from the Chinese market.
Riding on the east wind of sustainability, how can “fast fashion” be reborn?
It has only been more than 20 years since European and American fast fashion entered China, developed rapidly, and ended its exit. But has the glory of fast fashion really passed? iiMedia Consulting data shows that in 2021, the retail sales of clothing products by units above designated size in China will reach 997.46 billion yuan. It is expected to reach 1,107.18 billion yuan in 2025. Huge market demand is before us. Although overseas fast fashion brands are not developing well, domestic e-commerce platforms are eyeing fast fashion. Within half a year, Byte has deployed fast fashion twice in a row, established a self-operated clothing team, and recently launched a store called “Feiyun Zhishang” in the Douyin APP. Taobao has launched its own fast fashion clothing store “ifashion” both offline and online. JD.com and Pinduoduo also have relevant layouts at home and abroad.
Traditional fast fashion is no longer favored by the younger generation of consumers, because the background of the times is different, and the consumption views of different generations are also different. The post-70s “province the priority”, the post-80s “quality first”, the post-90s “uninhibited individuality”, Gen Z “national trend”, etc. are the products of different generational consumption concepts. In addition to major trends, consumption concepts such as “greenenvironmental protection” and “sustainable consumption” are also becoming popular fashion trends.
On the one hand, there is still a huge market demand for fast fashion. On the other hand, sustainable fashion will become a “compulsory course” from “elective”. Consumers’ awareness of responsibility is increasing. The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. It also suffers from high waste and harsh labor treatment, which is one of the important obstacles to the sustainable transformation of the fashion industry. With the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the climate goals proposed by the Paris Agreement approaching, it has become increasingly urgent to promote the sustainable transformation of the fashion industry. Consumers want to know whether the source of the fabric is sustainable, whether the production process is environmentally friendly, and whether the company has a sense of social responsibility when purchasing.
After experiencing the new crown epidemic, consumers need more sustainable fashion brands. Fortunately, nearly 80% of Chinese consumers check and avoid plastic materials when purchasing fashion items, and nearly half have purchased second-hand products and products made of organic materials in the past two years. The use of green organic materials is a major purchasing factor for almost all consumers who pay attention to “sustainable fashion”; relatively speaking, Millennials are the most aware of “green (production) processes”. This shows that it is not that fast fashion has withdrawn from the stage, but that higher requirements are needed to meet the current social environment and consumer needs. Fast fashion + sustainability is already the latest fashion ecology, and more and more traditional fast fashion brands And new brands are beginning to make changes and join the trend of sustainable fashion.
The main fabric of the environmentally friendly capsule series launched by UR is REPREVE, a new environmentally friendly fabric that has obtained international GRS certification and is regenerated from recycled plastic bottles polyester. In terms of fabric sourcing and research and development, UR is committed to finding greener and more environmentally friendly development directions; Fili Pari is a fashion technology startup founded by two alumni of the Polytechnic of Milan. Its Marginto shoes, outerwear and accessories are Made from marble powder; The cactus of Angela Roi Angela Roi’s handbags, cross-body bags and shoulder bags are made of cactus. The brand is committed to using non-animal materials, such as vegan cactus-derived leather, created through a slow process of hand-picking ingredients and drying; the Ground Cover is made from leather derived from pineapples, tolinen, through cactus leather and finally to various types of cotton, steel, cork insoles, cotton laces and microfiber lining make this boot durable despite the complete absence of more animal fibers.
Fast fashion was originally a product born in response to demand. As a relatively young style, it has always been welcomed by young consumers. Varied styles and high cost performance are its advantages that cannot be ignored. However, with the changes in economic level, social environment, and consumer awareness, the survival of fast fashion is also facing huge challenges. Sustainable fashion is the key to brand development. It is a must-have option, but in the highly competitive fashion industry, how to attract and retain consumers is the main proposition for brand survival.
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AAA, the survival of fast fashion is also facing huge challenges. Sustainable fashion is a must for brand development, but how to attract and retain consumers in the fiercely competitive fashion industry is the main proposition for brand survival.
AAA
Disclaimer:
Disclaimer: Some of the texts, pictures, audios, and videos of some articles published on this site are from the Internet and do not represent the views of this site. The copyrights belong to the original authors. If you find that the information reproduced on this website infringes upon your rights, please contact us and we will change or delete it as soon as possible.
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