Fast fashion needs to slow down

When you do six shows a year, there’s not enough time for creative enterprise, an industry expert had once said. The Indian fashion industry is also undergoing the same concern as the growing demand has boosted fast fashion — resulting, as many designers say, in mindless consumerism and environmental hazards. The fashion industry was estimated to be worth over Rs 720 crore in 2015. It is said to be growing rapidly, with two major fashion weeks happening bi-annually, and several other city-specific, smaller but significant extravaganzas, giving a chance to hundreds of designers catering to couture, pret, kids wear, resort wear, men’s wear, lingerie and the accessories sector. Designer Rahul Mishra explains: “Fast fashion, with their fast production, not only hurts our resources but also employs less people, as these processes are usually highly mechanised.” He also suggests there’s a need to adopt a slower process to empower talented artisans.  

Ace designer Ritu Kumar says: “In places where the need to replenish is required, the change of fashion is a boon. But where it is triggered out of a need to feed the multinational interests only, it is a bane. She pointed out how  in Western countries, especially the colder countries, this need does not arise so much as clothes fray and fade much less, especially as they are now constructed in man-made synthetic fabrics. “The fast fashion, mindless consumerism, was initiated in those cultures to ensure that wardrobes had to be replenished and hence the need to make people feel that their clothes were obsolete,” added the designer.  — IANS