Fast Fashion: Because Who Needs Self-Esteem When You Can Have a New Top Every Thursday?
Fast Fashion: Because Who Needs Self-Esteem When You Can Have a New Top Every Thursday?
Fast fashion has conquered not only the market, but also our souls, minds, and whatever remains of our dignity after the third panic-buying session of the week. At this point, we can confidently admit that this industry is destructive not only for the planet, but also for our psychology. Yes, the same industry that gives us “retail therapy” also makes us anxious, insecure, and strangely convinced that last season’s jeans are a personal failure.
According to the UN Environment Programme, the fashion industry is the world’s second biggest consumer of water and is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. And yet, we somehow manage to be more worried about whether the new blazer makes us look expensive than about the fact that an actual river turned turquoise somewhere because of dye runoff.
Meanwhile, our wardrobes resemble emotional support roller-coasters: half-full, half-empty, always wrong. How many times have you fallen asleep thinking about THAT Zara dress you saw on sale last week only to finally buy it, hang it proudly in your closet and then wait for the perfect moment to wear it… a moment that, let’s be honest, never actually arrives?!
Trends change so fast that by the time your order arrives, it’s practically vintage.
And let’s talk about quality, or whatever we’re calling it these days. Remember the last time you wore a tight white T-shirt twice without developing mysterious yellow hieroglyphics in the armpits? Exactly… Or the times you walked out of a store empty-handed because you wanted everything and liked… absolutely nothing?
Take the 100% polyester coat I would say, ideal for a breezy walk in the Bahamas, slightly less perfect for surviving winter anywhere that has actual weather. And those winter boots the manufacturer recommends you shouldn’t get wet? Bold choice for a season defined by snow, rain, and questionable puddles.
Has quality become a privilege of the higher classes, in a world that supposedly “abolished inequalities” decades ago? Because nothing screams social progress like a coat that melts next to a radiator.
Of course, fast fashion thrives in a world where social media gives us VIP access to the daily lives of billionaires and Hollywood stars while rest of us, working for minimum wage, are left dreaming of copying their wardrobes with affordable versions. The industry happily responds with cheaply produced garments that replicate runway styles faster than we can click “add to cart.”
But eventually, we have to ask ourselves: is that one day Instagram look, the one that got 200+ likes, mostly from bots and your cousin in Gori, really worth the constant consumption, the insecurity, and the endless cycle of comparing ourselves to curated lives that aren’t even real?!