
It used to take six months for fashion industry powerhouses to stock collections presented during fashion week. But this year, fashion week introduced “See-Now, Buy-Now” (SNBN) – the ultimate instant gratification where consumers can wear what they loved on the runway within days. Until recently, this strategy provided innovative players, like H&M and Zara, with an edge over some higher-end brands.
Luxury Brands Join the Trend
In September 2016, luxury brands like Ralph Lauren, Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger, and Tom Ford embraced SNBN. This trend perfectly serves our digital age’s growing attention deficits, driven by platforms like Instagram and Twitter. After all, who’ll remember what they wanted to buy today in six months' time?
Fashion Week Meets Climate Week
As fashion week traveled from New York City to its European hubs, Climate Week in New York highlighted the industry's environmental impacts. For many, fashion symbolizes the problems of consumer culture and is often cited as a major contributor to climate change and resource depletion. The fashion industry has conditioned many to feel an urge to replace their wardrobe seasonally, embodying a “throwaway society” business model that systematically generates waste.
The Role of SNBN in Waste Culture
For sustainability advocates, SNBN has sparked reactions ranging from disappointment to resignation. While we could theoretically get by with a minimal wardrobe, it’s undeniable that clothing means more than its technical function. Fashion is a powerful form of personal expression and social communication, which many find difficult to give up. Given its cultural significance, SNBN appears poised to stay.
Supply Chain Pressures of SNBN
There’s another side to SNBN that shouldn't be overlooked: it intensifies the burden on global supply chains. A typical T-shirt may start in U.S. cotton fields, travel through several Asian or South American countries for processing, and finally land in American stores. This complex journey raises questions: can SNBN sustain such supply chains at a feasible price point? As SNBN gains traction, supply chains will be stretched, advantaging companies skilled in sourcing local materials, on-site production, and optimized just-in-time logistics.
The Promise of Circular Fashion
Achieving a sustainable SNBN model is possible. If designed with circularity in mind, fashion could be fully recyclable, allowing materials—from fabrics and dyes to rivets and sequins—to remain in use cycle after cycle. Production automation also reduces reliance on distant cheap labor and sweatshops. Although challenges remain, there’s no insurmountable barrier preventing SNBN from becoming part of a sustainable, circular economy.
Innovators Lead the Way
To overcome declining sales and shrinking profit margins, the fashion industry must embrace circularity. This calls for innovative business models that not only anticipate obsolescence but also enable the recovery of materials from past collections. It’s time for a circular See-Now, Buy-Now to take center stage on the runway.