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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Moreover, South Asian fashion has seen a similar shift as consumers choose archival fashion over fast fashion. — Kanika Talwar, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2026 Mora believes ultra-quick manufacturing doesn’t necessarily have to turn every user into a fast fashion company if the brand retains its standards for quality, materials, and assortment. — Jessica Binns, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026 Shelie Miller, a University of Michigan professor who studies the environmental impacts of products, said Halloween costumes, like fast fashion, are often made cheaply from plastic materials. — Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026 Mishkin owes some of the success of her label, Naomi Nomi, to a growing backlash against companies – from the luxury tier on down to mall brands and fast fashion – that have tried to pull the synthetic poly-blend wool over our eyes. — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fast fashion

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fast fashion was in 1975

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Cite this Entry

“Fast fashion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fast%20fashion. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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