Chinese fast-fashion scaled via ten thousand designs daily and app distribution

Evidence

Ultrafast-fashion powerhouse Shein, by contrast, made a global splash through its combination of mass production and mobile technology. The company added up to ten thousand new designs daily. The app exploded in popularity in the US during the pandemic, with young poptimists praising the company for making fashion affordable for more people. Critics, however, accused Shein of exploiting laborers, plagiarizing designs, and violating the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. To counter the negative coverage, Shein flew in a group of Western influencers to tour its facilities in Guangzhou. The influencers’ glowing reviews themselves became a PR fiasco as online audiences derided their endorsements: “The gaslighting is CRAZY!” — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 751

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the death-of-the-sellout mechanism from the book’s thesis — influencer endorsement backfiring as audiences read it as paid deception.
• CANDY: The gaslighting is CRAZY response to Shein’s influencer tour is a punchy, tweetable anecdote.