fast fashion

noun

: an approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing fashions that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers

For many shoppers, Primark has an irresistible offer: trendy clothes at astonishingly low prices. The result is a new and even faster kind of fast fashion, which encourages consumers to buy heaps of items, discard them after a few wears and then come back for another batch of new outfits.

—The Economist

Competition is fierce at every end of the fashion spectrum from luxury to fast fashion.

—Nedra Rhone

In 1985, we bought roughly 31 clothing items per year; now [in 2012] we snap up twice that many thanks to "fast fashion."

—Azeen Ghorayshi

The allure of fast fashion makes sense in times of economic hardship. People still want to dress up, feel good and express their creativity.

—Shama Nasinde

—usually hyphenated when used before another noun

fast-fashion chains/retailers

Examples of fast fashion in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The process exposed the cracks in the ‘Made in Italy’ supply chain, undermining their long-standing association with superior quality and ethics, and challenging the assumption that worker exploitation was unique to fast fashion. — Bella Webb, Vogue, 21 July 2026

Holland Cooper emphasizes hard work, continuous learning, and a focus on classic, empowering pieces over fast fashion trends. — Rachel Burchfield, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026

This suggests resale currently acts as a supplement to fast fashion retail rather than a complete displacement mechanism. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 20 July 2026

After all, in an era of fast fashion, fast-casual chains and AI slop, what's realer than a bowl of handmade pasta? — Natalie B. Compton The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fast fashion

• compassion
• ashen
• passion
• ration
• internation