The Weekend Read✨Thread by Thread: Unravelling The Origins of Fast fashion

Hello!

Fast fashion. We’ve all heard the term. It’s become a bit of a catch-all to describe the dizzying speed at which clothes are made, sold, worn, and discarded. But how many of us have really stopped to think about what fast fashion actually is, how it started, and what it’s doing — not just to our planet, but to our wallets, our sense of self, and the future?

Today’s The Weekend Read is part one of a two-part deep dive that isn’t here to judge or guilt-trip, but to enlighten. It’s for anyone who’s ever bought a top for £9.99 because it was trending on TikTok. It's for those with a wardrobe full of “meh” purchases. It's for people aged 18 through to 65 who care, deep down, about what they’re wearing — and what it’s costing us all.

So settle in with a cup of tea, and let’s unravel the story of fast fashion.

What is Fast Fashion?

Fast fashion is the business model of producing high volumes of inexpensive, trend-led clothing quickly — and getting it into stores (and online) as fast as possible to meet consumer demand. These clothes mimic catwalk trends and celebrity styles, reaching the high street within a matter of weeks. Think Zara, Boohoo, Shein, Primark, and Temu — retailers churning out new collections every six weeks or less. Clothes are cheaper, more trend-driven, and made from lower quality materials, resulting in garments that often don’t last more than a handful of wears.

Where traditional fashion cycles once meant waiting months for new clothes, fast fashion brands now release new collections every few weeks. Some — like Zara — restock shelves every 10–14 days.

And they’re not just reacting to seasonal needs anymore; they’re reacting to social media, celebrity culture, influencer trends and viral moments — often replicating them in record time.

But It Wasn’t Always This Way: A Brief History

Let’s rewind to the early 1900s. Before the rise of industrial production, most people had fewer garments in their wardrobes, took better care of them and often passed them down through generations. Materials were heavier, more durable, and natural — wool, linen, cotton, and silk. Clothes were made to measure or home-sewn, and they were designed to last. The idea of ‘seasonal wardrobes’ didn’t exist in the way we understand it today. Instead, clothing was precious, personal, and repaired — not replaced.

By the 1950s, the fashion landscape had begun to change. Thanks to advances in textile manufacturing and the post-war consumer boom, the concept of ready-to-wear clothing began to take off. Fashion started becoming more accessible to the middle classes. Department stores grew in popularity, and with them came the rise of seasonal fashion lines. Designers and retailers would produce two collections a year: Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter.

That two-season model dominated the fashion world for decades. Then came the 1990s and 2000s — and the wheels came off.

The Birth and Boom of Fast Fashion

The catalyst was a combination of globalisation, the rise of the internet, and the need for retailers to compete on speed and price. In the early 2000s, companies like Zara began dramatically increasing the number of collections they released. They famously shortened its production cycle to just 3–4 weeks from design to the shop floor. By the 2010s, retailers were producing 12–24 collections per year, driving a constant sense of newness and urgency.

The emergence of social media — especially Instagram — poured fuel on the fire. Trends became micro-trends. Influencers were showing new outfits daily. The idea that you could wear something once and discard it became normalised.

In this fast fashion system, consumers are encouraged to buy more and more, even if the quality is poor. In fact, the faster we consume, the faster they produce. And it’s a cycle that shows no signs of slowing. If current trends continue unchecked, the global fast fashion market is projected to reach £280 billion by 2032, up from around £100 billion in 2023. This pace of growth is unsustainable — environmentally, economically, and ethically.

But bargains come at a cost — one that’s often hidden.

Why Are We Buying So Much?

On the surface, fast fashion appears to be wallet-friendly. Dresses for £5, tops for £2, even coats for £15. But what’s the real cost?

Fast fashion garments are typically made from cheap synthetic materials like polyester and acrylic — plastic fibres derived from fossil fuels. They pill quickly, shrink or warp in the wash, and often lack the attention to detail you’d find in higher quality pieces.

Here’s how they compare:

Fabric: Fast fashion = synthetic blends (polyester, elastane); Quality fashion = natural or sustainable fibres (organic cotton, Tencel, wool)

Construction: Fast fashion = loose seams, misaligned patterns, rushed stitching; Quality fashion = reinforced seams, aligned prints, better fit

Longevity: Fast fashion = average 5–7 wears; Quality fashion = years (with care)

What’s worse, fast fashion fuels impulse buying. It’s easy to justify a £10 top — until you’ve bought five of them this month and worn each only once.

According to WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), the average UK consumer owns 118 items of clothing and spends over £1,000 annually on 28 new items each year (that’s more than any other country in Europe) — yet only wears approximately 20% of their wardrobe.

Young people aged 16–24 are the most frequent purchasers, shopping up to twice as often as those aged 45+. Research from Finder UK in 2023 showed that:

18–24-year-olds spend on average £1,042 a year on clothes.

25–34-year-olds spend £1,158 a year — the highest of any age group.

Even 55–64-year-olds spend on average £685 a year.

This doesn’t include returns, impulse buys never worn, or wardrobe clear-outs done in a haze of regret. We’re spending more and getting less — less quality, less longevity, and less satisfaction.

One reason is the psychological effect of choice overload. We’re faced with endless new options every week, and constant exposure to trends creates a feeling of urgency — if we don’t buy now, we’ll miss out. Marketing fuels this. Phrases like 'limited drop', 'trending now', and 'back in stock' trigger impulse buying. Combine that with influencer culture, sponsored posts, and ultra-fast delivery, and the result is a deeply addictive shopping cycle.

Who Are the Big Fast Fashion Players?

Let’s name names. These are the brands leading the charge in ultra-fast fashion:

Shein

Founded in 2008 in China, Shein reportedly adds up to 10,000 new items to its website daily. It’s now valued at over £60 billion and is one of the most downloaded shopping apps globally. They use AI and real-time data to monitor social trends to churn out new garments where clothing is often made by factories in China using low-paid labour.

Boohoo

Launched in 2006 in Manchester, Boohoo grew rapidly thanks to celebrity collaborations and aggressive social media marketing aimed at 16–30 year-olds. The brand releases over 500 new styles every week at peak, and has acquired other labels like PrettyLittleThing and Nasty Gal. The company faced investigations primarily in July 2020 following reports of labour rights violations in its suppliers' Leicester factories, and again in 2022 over greenwashing claims, with further scrutiny in 2023 and 2024.

Temu

A relatively new player, Temu was launched in 2022 by Chinese parent company Pinduoduo, entering the UK market offering ultra-low prices and flash sales. It has quickly become a household name through massive ad spend and referral marketing. They often undercut even SHEIN — raising major concerns around quality, waste and labour conditions.

ASOS

While initially more focused on branded goods, ASOS who were founded in the UK in 2000, now produces thousands of in-house designs yearly under it's ASOS Design label. They appeal to the slightly older market of 20-30 year olds, combining fast fashion speed with e-commerce reach and are known for their aggressive sales and constant new arrivals.

How do they do it? These companies operate on a model built for speed and scale by outsourcing production to countries with low labour costs, few worker protections, and limited environmental regulation. Many reports show workers are paid pennies per item, working 75+ hour weeks in unsafe conditions. The cost to make a £3 t-shirt? Often less than 50p — materials, labour, and shipping included.

So Where Does This Leave Us?

We’ve covered the whirlwind rise of fast fashion — but in Part Two, we’re pulling back the curtain on its true cost.

We’ll look at the environmental fallout (spoiler: it’s grim), what happens to our clothes when we donate them, who’s trying to fight back (hello, Vinted, eBay, M&S and some truly inspiring UK brands), and what might happen if we don’t start making some changes — soon.

We’ll also dive into the tricky truth of “greenwashing” and whether the industry is really doing enough.

So make sure to look out for next week’s The Weekend Read, and in the meantime, here’s something to ponder:

Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned. – United Nations Environment Programme

Let’s make sure we’re not contributing to that.

Best wishes,

Jenny & Judi x

Jenny Goldsmith

Celebrator of Individuality

Curator of Confidence

Tel: 07986 062460

e: jenny.goldsmith@houseofcolour.co.uk

w: www.houseofcolour.co.uk/jennygoldsmith

Client code: GOLDSMIT for 30% of all webshop prices

Webshop: shop.houseofcolour.co.uk/shop