Hola Sugarcups,
We’ve all been there, gone into a Zara on Oxford Street and seen a blazer we know we just can’t afford. But, since a pattern cutter in Arteixo, drawing on 30 years of fashion experience, has cracked how they get the shoulders and lapel roll so perfect for this price.
Break it down into three parts. What are they copying? What do they think is going to be viral? And what is the big risk they could either be the smartest retailers or total failures?
It can be misleading because it is easily confused, but in fact they are one of the world’s most sophisticated forecasting industries.
The Copy: High Street Borrowed From the Quiet
The Copy
Zara in particular has always been known for its speed, from copying obvious items to defining pant shapes and cuts, like those seen on an influencer’s Instagram 11 days ago. Everyone copies, and all fast.
This season, however, they’ve taken the copying to an entirely new level. Zara, H&M and COS new ins all have double-breasted blazers with lined shoulders. Wide-leg trousers in fluid fabrics, unbranded cotton linens in preppy shades, no logo – calling it ‘a pared-back look’ our shopping editors call it ‘elevated’, but the pieces are incredibly pared back. Clean lines, minimalist detailing and minimal silhouettes. As it happens this is a very affordable way of doing this as the brands are moving away from logo mania. As mentioned in this article on the site;
Fast fashion discovered that ‘quiet luxury’ was never truly luxurious. It is more like minimal, considered, well-made clothing in non-lable conscious materials. Easy to rip off. Of course you can’t copy 300 years of atelier tradition, but you can certainly copy a double breasted blazer with a decent lapel roll. As long as you commit to pattern drafting for good shoulder construction.
These aren’t trying to be luxurious, but do mimic the appearance of a considered label for a fraction of the cost. No surprises, the best high street buys this year have been styled to match the wardrobe of a French girl. Sophisticated basics, crisply-tailored selections, straight-leg denims, leather-based loafers, woolly berets and cashmere jumpers.
The Bet
Here is the look they’re copying. Here is where they invest, and they know how to do it. Zara in particular. With clever forecasting, they sell items before they are even taking off. Using runway shots and quick-moving merch data.
They’re placing some interesting wagers for the next year and a half. From a seemingly one viral item to referencing the satin sheen all over the brand. Detailed dresses, skirts and tops in colours that read as luxurious. They’re also betting big on lace. On pants, underneath cardigans and poking out of structured garments. They’ve made pointelle knits the look to have this season, along with their romantic, slightly nostalgic style.
They’re investing in tailored silhouettes. Balloon sleeves, wide-leg trousers, and formal tops. It’s permeating the entire label. Generally this suggests the high street has fallen in love with the trend. They’re investing heavily in accessories too. Statement belts and jewellery provide the just one focal point in their pared-down looks – chunky pendant necklaces on chains.
All four have safe, low-effort options for a maximalist proposition The satin sheen reads more nightclub glam than daywear – but it’s not. A heavy-chain pendant necklace over a chain makes a statement without making a fuss with your wardrobe. Fast fashion is trying to do just that. Customers are over minimalism but not entirely ready for logomania. They get a hint of drama, but not enough to have to purchase a ton of stuff. You can add it or subtract it from your existing looks. It’s a safe bet.
The Gamble
I’ll try to make it more interesting here. This is where you usually stop reading about fast fashion trends, because it isn’t a trend, it is a gamble.
Inditex has been off quietly laying the foundations of a new core in Zara, around theirQuiet AI strategy. Take out all the over-the-top shiny tech of yesteryear. Here’s a mind-blower: they now sell 85% of their stock at full price!
They have their own forecasting and restocking system. A more advanced version of the “just-in-time” system they invented years ago. With a predictive model they can almost exactly sell what they will sell and restock faster.
They’re even betting on their Virtual Fitting Room. With two pictures, your full-body shot and your selfie, they can create an avatar of you giving you a full 360-degree view of how the piece of clothing will fit. Watching it happen is kind of weird. Fast fashion has always banked on the fact you wouldn’t know the fit until you tried it in a changing room, or rolled the dice online. They hope to make the risk invisible.
Their dream is to be an ‘AI Stylist’. Assist with your existing wardrobe and recommend new items to wear. It’s feeling more like a personal shopper than a recommend system.
This is a huge gamble. They’re asking customers to send real pictures of their bodies for an algorithm to process, and the customers to trust a machine that it understands their style. Success would give a formidable moat. The pictures, returns and styling preferences would hone their predictions of what users want to buy. Users would no doubt keep buying from them, because no other app knows their shape. But if they fail and the users refuse to send images, they will have spent billions on something nobody else wants. Their more conventional competitors will have spent nothing.
Part two of this big risk: circularity. The most audacious part, because it just doesn’t play by the rules of fast fashion. They’ve created a recycling, repairing and donating service within themselves: Zara Pre-Owned. Going after the second hand market. Analysts expect 2-3x faster growth than first hand sales by 2027. H&M created similar processes and partnered with Sellpy for recycling.
They will spend huge sums on infrastructure, to match growth in their own sales. They gamble that reselling or recycling will generate even more sales. A sensible, though high risk, play.
Spending on circularity is also pushing against their own history of success. Invoking ownership and loyalty from resale as a sure fire way to have it all pay off someday. Will pay off in the early 2030s or not is uncertain, as EU traceability legislation will incentivise circularity almost to the point of necessity. An odd path for fast fashion, for none of us really know the outcomes.
Lessons From The High Street’s ambitions
On the whole it suggests they’re not just trend-chasing but three very different plays: all-risky. One they’re borrowing from luxury, one they’re using like a hedge fund, and one they’re rolling the dice on the patience of an industry that should have none.
The main point: they get that speed is no longer a moat. Speed used to be how you could beat the other guy to the punch. Now, however, they’ve gained assurance. They’re confident the cuts will be accurate, the next song will be out, previous customers can be expected to return. That’s a much more ambitious goal. For the first time in history, fast fashion is attempting to develop something like loyalty.
Until next time, Jasmin x
