Fast Fashion Hits LA

An article in the LA Times looks at the impact of the arrival of H&M to the city:

H&M — and its aggressive competitors, including L.A.-based Forever 21, the Spanish chain Zara and Target — are the vanguard of a retail revolution that is changing the way Americans think about and shop for clothes. While big department stores and elite designers struggle, stores like these, which quickly deliver runway trends at bargain-basement prices, are winning the hearts and wallets of both well-heeled clotheshorses and thrifty wannabes.

…H&M and its ilk have been labeled “fast fashion” because they get fresh looks in their stores months before the designers who created them can ship so much as a belt. They are masters of the quick turnaround: When a new look surfaces — on the street, the runway or the Internet — they can have it on the racks in three weeks. Stores get deliveries of new merchandise daily, sometimes two or three times a day.

First H&M in L.A. Has Fashion Fans in a Frenzy – Los Angeles Times