The Birth Of Fast Fashion: How Mass Production Took Over Our Closets

Fast fashion. A significant component of each of our wardrobes is in some way or form. But that’s today. How exactly did it start? 

Let's travel back to the year 1830. In the midst of the Industrial Revolution, Barthelemy Thimonnier invented the first commercially viable sewing machine.

The sewing machine, looking innocent and a reminder of the simpler past, could be blamed for unleashing the early forms of the unstoppable & irresistible demon of fast fashion.

Clothesmaking began to move away from the traditional method of making by hand. This meant that clothes became easier to make and faster to produce.

This also reduced the cost of making clothes, which meant clothes began to appeal to the middle class. The practice of wearing clothes shifted from practical purposes to sartorial style.

Due to the demand, clothing began to be made in bulk and various sizes (like what you’d find at your city’s local H&M), and dressmaking shops began to be created for the middle classes.

The Industrial Revolution itself was characterised by the emergence of textile machines and factory-made clothes, also caused by earlier inventions such as the spinning jenny and power loom, which also contributed to mass production. 

However, this also led to the exploitative workplace of sweatshops. 

Second World War and Beyond

Later, motivated by a sense of utility, clothing midst the Second World War became standardised and with a focus on ready-to-wear, contributing to the sense of standardisation we see in fast fashion today.

However, in the 1960s, a post-war attitude led the new generation to see clothes as a way to express themselves and their identity, increasing the demand for clothing significantly, contributing to he increase in mass-produced fashion differently.

As a result, textile mills opened across the world, and the quality of clothing began to become a concern of the past. 

Yet, the true fast fashion model was created in the 1970s. As trade relations began to form between China and America, demand increased for embroidered silks and other clothes specific to China.

This, merged with the technology of containerised shipping - a method that caused companies to ship large quantities cost-efficiently, led manufacturers from Western countries to decide that importing garments made at lower costs from developing countries would allow greater profits. 

The term fast fashion, however, was consolidated from a New York Times article in 1989 that described Zara taking clothes from design to sale in 2 weeks as “fast fashion.” 

By the 1990s, its popularity had greatly accelerated. Zara set up its first brick-and-mortar store in the United States, and fast fashion had taken off.

With the combination of globalisation and improved technologies, fast fashion is more significant than ever. And once again, politics comes into play.

The end of the Cold War led to trade liberalisation, making global trade easier. Mall culture and rapid trends also emerged, allowing for easier and repeated access to fast fashion giants.

The 2000s marked a move from seasonal collections to bi-monthly collections, increasing the demand for instant gratification. Soon, more fast fashion stores lit brightly and densely populated the malls of cities. 
 
Today, fast fashion defines the majority of what fashion is. According to a report, The State of Fashion 2024, published by the Business of Fashion andMcKinsey, 40 per cent of consumers in the United States and 26 per cent of consumers in the United Kingdom shopped at fast fashion giants Shein or Temu in 2023.

According to the most recent report, retailers such as Shein and Temu have become the primary online fashion marketplaces in the United States. 

Authored by Jai Shah, freelance writer, for SheThePeople Sartorial Series. Views expressed by the author are their own.