How did the Fast Fashion Phenomenon Begin
It was during the ancient Egyptian period that the very concept of luxury related to fashion, beauty and appearance became known. The royal Pharaohs were flamboyant in their dressing and employed the services of the best jewelers, craftsmen, artists and designers in order to assemble their wardrobe. Only the finest materials were used when producing their fashion goods. However the modern luxury fashion that we are accustomed to today did not start to take shape until the industrial revolution, when mass production techniques led the way for ready-to-wear fashion.
It has been stated that the life of luxury fashion brands has become more difficult since the proliferation of fast fashion brands. The Italian luxury fashion designer Giorgio Armani has said that "Fast fashion is a growing reality in our sector". Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of American Vogue has credited Zara for creating a „seasonless cycle for fashion‟. Fast fashion brands such as H&M, Zara, Mango and Topshop have through interpreting catwalk trends with a speedy time-to-market been extremely successful at attracting the fashion conscious consumer. Even loyal high-end customers have started to mix their luxury fashion with fast fashion. Luxury fashion brands once dismissed the fast fashion brands as irrelevant to their high-end business, which however have started to drain away sales from the luxury fashion brands.