Paris has a sanctified reputation in fashion. The city witnessed the rise of modern couture with Charles Frederick Worth in the 19th century, then a radical lineage of designers in the century that followed, including Coco Chanel and Christian Dior. Ever since, outsiders have anointed Parisians as the trend-setters of chic, sophisticated daily dress.
But that long-standing and carefully protected prestige is now in limbo. On Wednesday, Nov. 5, Shein — a fast-fashion giant infamous for exploitative labor practices — arrived in Paris, the very capital of couture. The company’s first permanent brick-and-mortar boutique has moved into the sixth floor of the iconic BHV Marais department store, a historic retail hub that sits within view of the Hôtel de Ville and the Notre-Dame.
The French are up in arms, and, frankly, they have reason to be. The Singapore-based company represents everything Parisians loathe: cheap fabrication, algorithmic trend-churn and blatant imitation. And the laundry list of the company’s wrongdoing is only getting longer. Just this week, French regulators started proceedings to suspend Shein after it was found selling childlike sex dolls on its online retail platform in France. Many weren’t surprised. Instances of similarly grotesque product offerings, severe underpayment of workers, forced labor allegations and mass plagiarism of independent designers have become all too common for the company. And now, with France providing Shein with its first permanent location, the former fashion destination looks complicit in these practices.
Another facet of this tension relates to environmental responsibility. France regularly ranks among the more climate-conscious countries of the world, and just last year introduced legislation to curb textile waste and regulate overproduction in fast fashion. Shein, known for its environmental negligence in production, threatens to undo that progress. According to The Guardian, the company produces up to 10,000 new products a day and ships to more than 150 countries. The emissions from both the deliveries and the inevitable tidal wave of returns further shatter any illusion that the company’s digital commerce is clean. And so, Shein’s arrival feels like another contradiction of the values France has been projecting to the world.
Analysts routinely cite Shein as defining the new and upcoming category of ultra-fast fashion. Before the company’s rise to prominence, brands like Zara were considered the most cost-efficient in fast fashion, consistently keeping pace with seasonal trends. But Shein has made Zara look expensive. Shein responds to micro-trends within a day, producing thousands of new items and selling them cheaper than an iced coffee. This business model conditions us to expect immediate access to new styles.
While Shein thrives on hyper-speed consumption, France’s fashion identity has always been based on the exact opposite philosophy. Parisian designers have historically believed that couture, at its best, requires intention. The presence of Shein threatens to erode the idea that fashion should be something worth waiting for, something that has always been central to France’s carefully designed quality pieces.
The backlash has been fierce. In December, employees at BHV Marais protested the company’s arrival; meanwhile French brands have pulled their products from the department store. However, the pushback has had no impact, and the nightmare doesn’t seem to be ending at Marais either. The brand has plans to open stores in five other cities throughout the country, threatening to embed itself further into the nation’s commercial landscape.
Paris’ situation should concern the world. Shein’s entry into its first physical boutique sets a global precedent. Perhaps we can no longer protect fashion’s authentic, creative and thoughtfully crafted qualities in a world slowly being overtaken by systems optimized for speed, scale and disposability. This move may indicate the beginning of new norms where hyperproduction and environmental negligence are both commonplace and embraced, even in more highbrow spaces.
It is clear that France is at a point of crisis. Just as last month’s Louvre robbery created skepticism about Paris’ ability to protect its art, Shein’s presence threatens to further chip away at the essence of the country’s culture and history. It’s overwhelming to think about how much Paris has lost in the last month in terms of fashion reputability, and even more unsettling to imagine how much more it stands to lose in the near future depending on what happens next.
Daily Arts Contributor Charley Levine can be reached at charlev@umich.edu.
