Speed is the design brief.
Fast fashion describes a business model built around quickly translating trends into high volumes of new products, often at low prices and with short expected use. Price alone is not a moral category: affordability can make clothing accessible. The harder question is what the system rewards—more newness, more turnover, and less time for durability, care and fair value.
It is a system, not a shopper’s failure.
Design decisions, purchasing practices, wages, marketing, logistics and local repair options all shape the life of a garment. Individual choices matter, but they happen inside an infrastructure that makes rapid replacement unusually easy.
Look for the tempo.
- How many new items are introduced, and how quickly?
- Was the garment designed to be worn, cared for, repaired and passed on?
- Who carries the risk when a trend ends?