History of Fashion
The fashion has evolved immensely throughout history. What started as simple clothing to cover our bodies has changed into fashion produced by one of the largest industries in the world. The primary historical role of clothing was to cover oneself and “fashion” was reserved for the high-class society only (Ertekin 2014). The immense evolution of the clothing industry can be attributed to the industrial revolution and the innovation following the nineteenth century. Until the Industrial Revolution, clothes were included among a person’s most valuable possessions, and the majority of people had a limited clothing collection (Crane 2009). The dawn of the twentieth century brought mass production, and this allowed the general public to access clothing items formerly only available to aristocrats (Ertekin 2014).
Post- World War II development transformed the way the general public viewed shopping and the clothing industry. Because of the innovation in production processes, companies could now mass produce clothing, and fashion transformed from a luxury concept to a staple idea. Mass communication and pop culture also emphasized consumerism and gave consumer access to information on the newest fashion trends (Barnes 2006). These developments allowed for the globalization of fashion and the creation of “fast fashion”.
Fast Fashion: The Fashion of the Twenty-First Century
What is fast fashion?
“Fast fashion” refers to an approach to the design and marketing of clothing which emphasizes quickness and cheapness with regards to trends (Joy 2012). This industry is reliant on the trends and has resulted in high competitiveness between companies to produce the trendiest clothing at the cheapest prices. Planned obsolescence—the designing of products to wear out prematurely with the goal of stimulating replacement buying—is intertwined with the fast fashion industry (Guilinan 2009). To remain competitive and produce clothing quickly and cheaply, companies skip the quality control step in their production process, and this allows for clothing pieces to wear out quickly. This concept also further stimulates consumers to keep purchasing clothing to replace the ones that wear out. Finally, companies encourage consumers to discard perfectly intact clothing for the sole reason that it is not “on-trend”. This ties back to clothing’s social role of being a representation of identity and status.