The Ugly Truth of Fast Fashion: Are Bad Designs a Strategic Move to Highlight the 'Good' Ones?

I was walking through the middle of Greenbelt in Manila, Philippines, with my childhood friend the other day. Our goal wasn’t to buy anything (our suitcases were already way too heavy for the flight home haha), but we were all in for some good old-fashioned window shopping. We passed the usual stores- Zara, Mango, Bershka, Pull & Bear, just to get a feel for the vibe and latest trends. Some of the stuff was really good. I’m especially loving the new summer clothes coming in: chunky gold jewelry, seashell accessories, and those cute knitted beach dresses with matching bikinis. But a lot of the clothes? Honestly, they were just… ugly. And it wasn’t just me being picky. My friend, who has a pretty open mind and solid fashion sense too, agreed. It made me wonder: is it possible these ugly pieces aren’t a mistake, but a strategy?

It’s no secret that fast fashion is a huge issue in the world, and it’s something I’ll probably write a lot more about. But honestly, I still find it hard to fully wrap my head around the topic. Still, I believe that by putting the issue into my own words, I’ll get closer to understanding it.

Fast fashion, by definition, is all about cheap, trend-driven clothing produced quickly for mass-market consumption. The term was first used by the New York Times in 1989 to describe Zara’s goal of getting a design from sketch to store in just 15 days. Once in stores, the items usually stick around for only a few weeks before they’re replaced by new ones. That’s the case with fast fashion giants like H&M, Shein, and Zara, where most people my age tend to shop, especially if you're on a budget. These big brands have fast and easy access to mass production, often through factories in places like China or Bangladesh, where workers (often children as young as 10) are underpaid and overworked. And this is where my theory comes in: maybe some designs are intentionally made ugly or low-effort because they simply can be. Why bother perfecting a look when you can just release a new one next week?

It’s kind of like when you’re packing for a vacation and you throw in a few random outfits in your suitecase “just in case.” Not your favorites, not the ones you’ll actually wear, but they’re there to fill space and give you the illusion of having options. You know deep down you won’t wear that one weird top, but somehow bringing it makes the rest of your outfits look better or more complete. That’s how I think some fast fashion pieces work. They’re not meant to be worn, they’re just there to make the other pieces stand out.

After digging into this theory a bit, I came across something called the test-and-drop model. It turns out that some brands actually put out what they call “experimental” designs just to test how people react. If an item doesn’t perform well, it gets pulled fast. This strategy is used by major brands like Zara, H&M, Uniqlo, and Shein. And honestly? To me, “experimental” kind of sounds like a fancy word for “ugly.” So maybe there’s some truth to the idea that certain items are just there to push you toward the ones the brand actually wants you to buy. And maybe (just maybe) those are also the pieces with the slightly higher price tag- just to push my theory a little further...

To be clear, this is all just a theory. But if it’s true, how wild is that? The idea that companies might be using ugly designs not just as filler, but as a strategy to control what we think is cute? It’s kind of disturbing. Especially when you consider how many of us are obsessed with microtrends from TikTok, Instagram, and influencer culture. Fast fashion brands know this, and that’s exactly why they’re at the top of the game. They understand that our FOMO is real (mine included), and they know we’ll buy something just to stay one step ahead of the trend cycle. So, let me put it simply: Are bad designs a strategic move to highlight the “good” ones? Are brands intentionally producing clothes that are destined to fail, just so we’ll appreciate the others more? And maybe more importantly: are we okay with exploiting underpaid workers, just so we can say “ew, that’s ugly”?