People are quick to dismiss clothes with a higher price tag and reach for the cheaper option but they are often unaware of the actual cost of fast fashion. Fast fashion is explained as being a "contemporary term used by fashion retailers to express that designs move from catwalk quickly in order to capture current fashion trends." Fast fashion clothing collections are based on the most recent fashion trends presented at Fashion Week in both the spring and the autumn of every year.

Customers are frequently left questioning why designer clothes cost so much more than the cheap lookalikes and the answer is not a simple one. Many people seem to think that all clothes are being made ethically now, but unfortunately that is not the case. While designer clothes are often being handmade and with a great attention to detail, the fast fashion copies are being made in sweatshops. It only makes sense; people want to wear what their favorite celebrities are wearing but often can't afford it so they go for cheaper versions. This creates more of a demand for the cheaper pieces so they need to make a surplus. With so many pieces needed to be made and the people at the top being blinded by money morals and ethics seem to be compromised.

It almost seems strange that this is still happening when mankind appears to be making strides in the right direction but fast fashion almost seems to go unrecognized. Too frequently consumers are blinded by a good deal and do not bother to find out about what exactly went into that new outfit. We saw this with American Apparel: all the brands clothes were made sweatshop free in downtown L.A. which made the clothes a bit pricier than what the average customer finds comfortable spending and ultimately American Apparel was forced to file for bankruptcy.

Brands such as Zara and H&M are notorious for fast fashion but things seemed to reach an apex this fall when H&M collaborated with French fashion house Balmain. Ever since Olivier Rousteing and his cheekbones took the position of creative director at Balmain, the brand's success has skyrocketed.

Rousteing's relationships with supermodels such as Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid and their Instagrams has done Balmain many favors and even got them to be the faces of their collaboration with H&M. Balmain knew they could make a fortune by getting these girls, who make upwards of $300,000 for promoting a product on Instagram alone, would make the demand for the collaborative collection surge and they were correct. "Balmania" was in full swing and people went insane over the collection and were lining up outside and causing Black Friday- style riots in stores.

It's sad to see credible fashion houses teaming up to make and endorse fast fashion copies and has left many wondering what exactly the future of fashion holds.