Criticism of the Fast Fashion

In the 2006 film version of The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, scolds her unattractive assistant for imagining that high fashion doesn’t affect her. Priestly explains how the deep blue color of the assistant’s sweater was     1     over the years from     fashion shows to departments stores and to the bargain bin in which the poor girl probably found her clothes.

This top-down concept of the fashion business couldn’t be more out of date or in conflict with the mad world described in Overdressed, Elizabeth Cline’s three-year accusation of “fast fashion”. In the last decade or so,     2     in technology have allowed mass-market labels such as Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo to react to trends more quickly and predict demand more     3    . Quicker turnarounds mean less wasted stock, more frequent release, and more profit. These labels encourage style-conscious consumers to see clothes as disposable—meant to last only a wash or two, although they don’t advertise that—and to     4     their wardrobe(衣橱) every few weeks. By offering on-trend items at dirt-cheap prices, Cline argues, these brands have controlled fashion cycles, shaking an industry long     5     to a seasonal pace.

The     6     of this revolution, of course, are not limited to designers. For H&M to offer a $5.95 knit miniskirt in all its 2,300-plus stores around the world, it must rely on low-wage overseas labor, order in volumes that     7     natural resources, and use massive amounts of harmful chemicals.

Towards the end of Overdressed, Cline introduced her ideal, a Brooklyn woman named   Sarah Kate Beaumont, who since 2008 has made all of her own clothes—and beautifully. But as Cline is the first to note, it took Beaumont decades to perfect her craft; her example can’t be imitated.

Though several fast-fashion companies have made efforts to     8     their impact on labor and the environment—including H&M, with its green Conscious Collection line—Cline believes lasting change can only be made by customers. She exhibits the idealism     9     to many advocates of sustainability, be it in food or in energy. Vanity(虚 荣心) is a constant; people will only start shopping more     10     when they can’t afford not to.