The Fall of Forever 21

graphic by lucinda strol

Millions of teenage and twenty-something-year-old girls all over the country share vivid memories of rummaging through Forever 21’s clearance section looking for the perfect bat mitzvah dress while their moms waited in the food court. There truly was no greater adrenaline rush than spending the babysitting money that you had been saving forever to buy that hideous sequin dress with some matching cat ears because it was middle school and for some reason that was cool. Much to the dismay of many young women’s nostalgia, however, the fast fashion company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 29th, ceasing operations in 40 countries and closing up to 178 stores in the United States.

The company will continue to operate its website and hundreds of stores in the US, Mexico and Latin America. Throughout the past decade, Forever 21 helped popularize fast fashion, which produces inexpensive clothing in response to the latest fashion trends. Forever 21 relied heavily on its consistent and reliable consumer base in the past, but its recent struggles have shown a shift in consumer taste.

So what happened to Forever 21? The company seemed to expand too aggressively while “backlash surrounding the environmental impact of quickly disposable clothes and concerns about worker safety” plagued the fast fashion industry, according to the New York Times. Many consumers, especially Gen-Z and Millennial women, have become more conscious consumers as environmental issues regarding the fashion industry have become more and more prevalent on social media and in politics.

A lot of Forever 21’s consumer base have been making the switch to thrift stores and brands that value sustainability and practice slow fashion, an awareness in regard to shopping “which considers the processes and resources required to make clothing,” according to goodonyou.com. Many influencers have turned thrifting trendy, and Youtube even has a whole community dedicated to sustainable living, including sustainable fashion.

Forever 21 based their expansion on the assumption that fast fashion would stick around, but the company had too many expectations for itself and the fast fashion industry as a whole. The retail landscape itself is changing drastically too, as malls are losing customers and anchor tenants. As income inequality widens, high-end malls are thriving as middle and working class malls continue to be on a decline.

Forever 21 also did not anticipate the prominence of many social media-savvy brands within the fast fashion industry, such as Fashion Nova. Fashion Nova was 2018’s most googled brand, and their marketing strategy focused on diverse sizes, low prices, and celebrity endorsements. The company has the most products stocked in the US market, but also has the highest replenishment rate, meaning the company always has new stock… and lots of it. Not many companies can offer the size inclusivity that Fashion Nova has either. The viral store, endorsed by stars like Cardi B and Blac Chyna, thrives on social media, hugely impacting Forever 21’s sales.

While Forever 21’s bankruptcy declaration may be a nostalgic goodbye for many young women, consumer shifts towards sustainability is a step in the right direction. Besides, a lot of us have outgrown the $5 crop tops by now anyway.