What are your thoughts on 'Fast Fashion' in India?

So what is ‘Fast Fashion’ ?

According to Wiki, “Fast fashion is a contemporary term used by fashion retailers to acknowledge that designs move from catwalk to store in the fastest time to capture current trends in the market”

Fast Fashion : Brands & Keywords

Fast Fashion in India

It is no revelation that Indians love fast fashion brands like Zara and Mango just as much as the rest of the world. Or maybe a little bit more than the shoppers in America, where trend forecasters are calling for  ‘fast fashion fatigue’ and  Bloomberg Businessweek was heard quoting the same with two industry experts claiming that the era of disposable fashion is coming to an end. Of course, the opinion is divided with many still of the view that fast fashion will survive ....“I have found wonderful inexpensive things and awful quality very expensive pieces”

and that gives me a thought over another question, “Are people willing to pay premium for quality for their fashion buys?”  For me personally, not really. Especially when I can buy trendy clothes with acceptable quality at affordable prices....and besides if I really wanted to invest in ‘lasting fashion’, I’d rather invest in a timeless piece from Dior or a Chanel. But that can wait.

For the moment though, I am loving the ZARAs, the MANGOs and anything that says ‘International’ ‘Affordable’ and ‘INR’ (custom charges, high shipping charges, long delivery period). Yes there are quite a few online stores that stock great international brands.

So my verdict is,  fast fashion is and will be hot in India. Along the way, I also see a lot of Indian retailers/individual designers trying  their hands on fast fashion via private labels.

Also wondering how the 'Elle' store (opened through a licensing agreement between French couturier Elle and Arvind Lifestyle brand) is doing. Earlier this year, they had spoken about their ambitious plans of foraying big into the Indian fast fashion market across the country and had hoped to introduce a new collection every 15 days(!) though I am guessing they are still battling it out with the giant ZARA... and other factors like 

• Establishing Elle as a fashion apparel brand
• Getting the pricing right
• Nailing their replenishment strategy ( 15 days!)

All the best and may the best one win. Though we already have one clear winner here..the happy customer :-)

The Elle Store, New Delhi

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