Low-Cost Fashion
May 25, 2020
LOW-COST
The phenomenon of low-cost fashion, also called "mid-range firms1" or "democratic fashion" has placed Spain at the forefront of international textile production. In just 30 years, Spain has transformed a languishing industry2 into a global economic model.
Briefly analyze what you usually wear3. Regardless of the country you are in, it is quite likely that you have a garment4 from one of these brands5 in your wardrobe: Zara, Pull & Bear, Springfield, Bershka, Stradivarius, Women'Secret, Bimba & Lola, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Üterque, Adolfo Domínguez, Pedro del Hierro, Cortefiel, El Corte Inglés, Sfera, Mango, Caramelo or Pepe Jeans. These brands have two things in common. Firstly, they offer clothing with design standards6 in tune7 with current trends89, and at a price considerably lower than the ready-to-wear10 of other international firms. Secondly, all of them belong to Spanish business groups and, probably, their garments are designed or made11 in Spain.
From the beginning of its history in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, department stores12 made their own products. These large companies could also order13 part of their production from third parties. These products should always be created under the logo of department stores or under the phrase "special for". In the 1960s and 1970s this business model was quite common. Spanish department stores such as El Corte Inglés (which now owns Sfera) or Cortefiel (owners of Springfield, Pedro del Hierro or Women'Secret) started like this, and they remained14 until well into the eighties without modification, until another business model prevailed: the model created in Spain by Inditex. This model has proven to be a solid formula for success15 and has brought about structural changes in the world of clothing and design production.
In 1929, in the midst of economic depression, a middle-class American kept the nine outfits she owned as gold on cloth. Today, with the stock markets whipping pockets, the phrase "I have clothes to open a store" is too easily repeated. If we pay more for organic food, the sale of hybrid cars skyrockets and we do not hesitate to shell out almost two thousand euros for a designer laptop, why do we boast of the last bargain we have found in the low cost chain on duty? The same question was asked by the writer and blogger Elisabeth L. Cline, who has just published Overdressed: The shockingly high cost of cheap fashion (Portfolio / Penguin). A crude investigation into clothing at low prices, now converted into fast fashion, which puts the “democratization of fashion” in check and shows how the consumption of clothing has become faster, more accessible and cheaper. A shock for those who believe that being a "good consumer" means buying shoes at nine euros a pair. As the author narrates, "It is not that we cannot invest more money in buying clothes, we simply cannot find any reason to do so."
A regular at chains such as Target, Fovever21 or H&M for more than a decade, Cline decided that to write her book, and overwhelmed by the lack of closet space, she had to gather all her clothes and stack them in her room. He classified them by brand, country of origin, factory and, if he could remember it, the year in which he bought the garment and how much it cost him. After almost a week of work, she counted 354 pieces to be distributed among 61 tops, 60 shirts, 34 tank tops, 21 skirts, 24 dresses, 20 pairs of shoes, 20 pullovers, 18 belts, 15 cardigans and sweatshirts, 14 jackets and sum and continues to the final figure. “I had paid less than $ 30 for each garment, the price of most of my shoes was below $ 15. Being able to have all those clothes for so little money was something historic and unprecedented, ”she says. And this is where Asia gains weight
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