Fast fashion: Is it dampening the spirit of fashion industry?

Frequent and many fashion shows have put designers are on their toes 365 days. It doesn’t give them time to think differently and with fast fashion changing consumer mindset fashion industry as a whole is in a flux. Indian fashion industry is growing rapidly, with two major fashion weeks happening bi-annually, and several other city-specific, smaller ones, giving a hundreds of designers a chance to showcase their talent. And the arrival of international brands like H&M, Forever 21 and Zara in India, a new generation of shoppers have emerged in Indian horizon fuelling the demand for fast fashion.

As designer Rahul Mishra points out in every market, anything that is value for money, is either for a service or for consumption. From a needle to an airplane, everything we make, we use natural resources and it’s the same in fashion. It’s unavoidable, but it’s about balancing the approach. Fast fashion, with their fast production, not only hurts our resources but also employs less people, as these processes are usually highly mechanised. According to him, there’s a need to adopt a slower process to empower talented artisans.

Tough to keep the right balance

Adopting slower processes of creation, such as hand weaving and hand embroidery, slows down the process of creating clothes and, in turn, employs talented artisans who are in need of jobs. It also provides work and employment to the economy. Fast fashion has resulted in many international designers lending their creativity not only to their own label but also to many brands. For instance, Karl Lagerfeld worked for Chanel at the same time as his own label.

Ace designer Ritu Kumar feels, in places where the need to replenish is required, the change of fashion is a boon. But where it is triggered out of a need to feed multinational interests only, it is a bane. There is always the question of scale to consider in these circumstances. In India, traditionally, seasonal changes brought about a need for newer clothes as old ones became worn out, soiled or faded. This is especially true for stitched garments. She also pointed as to how in Western countries, especially the colder countries, this need does not arise so much as clothes fray and fade much less, especially as they are now constructed in man-made synthetic fabrics.

Fast fashion boon or bane

It’s not just the designers but officials at different clothing brands in India, too, believe that fast fashion can dampen the spirit of the fashion industry in days to come. Aparna Chandra, Head Designer – clothing of brand Nicobar points out the time is ripe when people in India should start taking individual pieces and styling the same thing differently for different occasions as opposed to buying a new thing every time for every occasion.