Fast is fashionable

Fashions come and fashions go, sometimes as fleetingly as the passage of time itself. It is, after all, the story of style. Trend is transitory. Well up to a point that is. Because if one thing has remained the same throughout the history of modern fashion it is the strict fashion calendar. What streams from the catwalks one month will most certainly take many more to make it into women's closets in the real world. Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer: fashion follows a tried and true style cycle.

Yet, with cheap chic retail on the rise and aspirational customers demanding trends as up-to-the-minute as those they see in magazines, change is afoot. As rapidly reinterpreted high-style looks are filtering to the mainstream within the blink of a short fashion minute, instant fashion gratification is in vogue. Today, no fashionista need wait for the real designer deal when the inspired-by-version can be snagged for just a fraction of the cost.

Hardly surprising then that just this past week, just as Old Navy announced a push towards a speedy trend-driven sales model, several big names retaliated. We're not talking lawsuits here, although the past year has seen Diane Von Furstenberg sue both Target and Forever 21 for copyright infringement. This time two big-time luxury names entered the arena to battle for design dominance. On the offense? The soon to be resuscitated Halston and online retailer Net-a-porter.com --both armed with a maneuver stolen from the mainstream itself.

Rendering the trade in quick knock-offs less attractive by stealing the giant retailers' thunder, the pair have now publicized a plan to sell two Halston pieces within just 24 hours of Halston's debut Fall 2008 show. It's certainly a move that would drastically change production cycles were it to be adopted by many other houses, but it definitely lends added cachet and exclusivity to the garments tagged for early sale. And moreover, by creating a new red letter day on the shopping calendar, buying the latest garment becomes a happening --hardly a tactic dissimilar from the first-day events Topshop and H&M create to build hype around their limited edition big name designer collections.

To many, this swing towards mainstream retail practice may just seem like a minor detail in the march towards fashion democratization and the dominance of ready-to-wear over haute couture. However, other than simply opening up the opportunities for aspirational shoppers to trade up to designer rather than down to mass market, this new luxury penchant for fast fashion also reflects is a larger change on the shopping landscape and in the global climate.

Simply put, given the sheer must-have desirability of fast fashion and the reality of climate change, the practice of sticking to several strict seasons seems pretty passé. Why not wear a different season's look when it's not necessarily snowing in January, or in the case of much of Europe last year, not warm and sunny in July? As layering and all-season dressing gains relevance for the average fashion lover, so too does the need for faster access to new looks. Collections including Resort and Pre-Fall that may have traditionally been off the strict fashion calendar are now registering clearly on many a fashion junkies' shopping radar.

It follows then that over the past few years, the off-calendar collections that were once just a European fad have gained huge popularity. Not just as a way to give buyers and journalists a taste of the Fall looks to follow, but also to create buzz around collections and meet the needs of stylish mid-season dressers. For 2008 Proenza Schouler presented its first Pre-Fall collection during Paris Haute Couture week, and, on the same note, Peter Som for Bill Blass showed a debut offering in New York.

Proenza Schouler Pre-Fall 2008

Bill Blass Pre-Fall 2008

So does this mean we'll be in for more attention-span-shortening collections, all sold in fits and starts throughout the year? A plethora of many new mid-season and pre-season collections many not be inevitable, but one thing is for certain, from mainstream to luxury, fashion is becoming a fast and fierce competition. For any hope in getting hold of the latest looks, it's time to upgrade your internet connection and get your elbows out. Forget fast fashion, retail is a race. On your mark, get set…shop.