Fast Fashion

Fast fashion is a term used to describe clothing collections which are based on the most recent fashion trends presented atFashion Week in both the spring and the fall of every year.[1] These trends are designed and manufactured quickly, and in an affordable way, to allow the mainstream consumer to take advantage of current clothing styles at a lower price. This philosophy of quick manufacturing at an affordable price is used in large retailers such as H&M, Forever 21, Zara, and Primark. Recently however, these retailers have been in pending lawsuits over violations of Intellectual Property rights.[2] The alleged violations are brought on as pieces of merchandise at the large retailers are considered to be knockoffs of designs from Diane von Furstenberg, Anna Sui and Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers line and many other well-known designers.[3]
Fast Fashion and Category Management The primary objective of the fast fashion is to quickly produce a product in a cost efficient manner. This efficiency is achieved through the retailers understanding of the target market's wants, which is a high fashion looking garment at a price at the lower end of the clothing sector.[4] Primarily, the concept of category management has been used to align the retail buyer and the manufacturer in a more collaborative relationship.[5] Category management is defined as "the strategic management of product groups through trade partnerships, which aims to maximize sales and profits by satisfying customer needs"..[6] This collaboration occurs as many companies resources are pooled to increase the market's total profit. The fast fashion market utilizes this by uniting with foreign manufacturers to keep prices at a minimum.
The Quick Response Method The concept of Quick Response (QR) is used to create new, fresh products while also drawing consumers back to the retail experience for consecutive visits.[7] Quick response also makes it possible for new technologies to increase production and