Forever 21 is an outlet devoted to fast fashion. From their glittery crop tops to body-hugging dresses, teenagers are easily drawn inside their store. Over the past years, this fashion giant dominated malls in different parts of the world. However, what turns out to be a success in the field of fast fashion was now slowly losing its appeal for the new generation of teen consumers.
Forever 21 recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, adding to the line of fashion stores who are victims of speedy changing fashion tastes of teens in this generation. The bankruptcy signals the end for the fast fashion retailer. It was established in 1984, together with other fast-fashion outlets like Zara and H&M, which became popularly known among teenagers in 1990s. In fact, Forever 21 even managed to stole consumers from the iconic American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch.
Forever 21’s popularity
The massive popularity of this fast-fashion chain grew even bigger, reaching young customers from all over the world. However, nothing stays the same, especially in fashion and as the style and taste of shoppers are changing, Forever 21 failed remained stagnant. These young customers are looking for environment-friendly fashions, such as dresses created from recycled plastic bottles, not clothes they’ll just stuff away after several uses.
In addition, they are also opting for online second sites where timeless clothes are sold – those that they can use even for how many times, something that Forever 21 couldn’t keep up. Now, it’s shutting down over 350 outlets nationwide, including more than 178 outlets in the US. As for the bankruptcy case, it operated in approximately 800 stores nationwide, with 500 stores located in the US.
Despite of this unfortunate downfall, fast fashion is still alive and growing. Swedish based fashion chain H&M, which also had a hard time keeping up with competitors in the market, is redeeming itself by reinventing its brand by offering eco-friendly fashion. It is also digitalizing some aspect of its manufacturing procedure.
2019 online fast fashion competitors
Nasty Gal, Fashion Nova, and Boo Hoo are some of the hottest and strongest online fast fashion outlets today. They are based online and their sites take convenient shopping to the next level. They also offer a lot of sales and promos from time to time since they are not pulled down by physical fashion outlets. On top of that, these fashion sites have a dedicated section for the working conditions in their factories, as well as their environmental efforts.
The birth of micro trends
In the past, fast-fashion outlets would follow one huge trend and display it to their stores. But now, in the age of social media, they are relying on a lot of micro trends since young customers are prone to following popular influencers online. This being said, retailers such as Forever 21 and other fashion-fashion outlets have to step up their game and accommodate the ever-changing fashion style of shoppers.
Photo Attribution:
1st and Featured image from https://cdnph.upi.com/svc/sv/upi_com/2931569820320/2019/1/71eb46227ceb2a4bec0e55d92c79aaa6/Forever-21-files-for-bankruptcy.jpg
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