Faster, Faster, Faster: Consumers Want It Now And Fashion World Adapts.

Byline: Cate T. Corcoran With contributions from Lisa Lockwood

Faster, Faster, Faster

Consumers Want It Now And Fashion World Adapts

Welcome to the world of fast fashion really fast fashion and it's being created by the consumer herself.

Fashion on demand is here, from sped-up deliveries at Burberry to businesses in which the consumer acts as buyer, backer and even the designer, and can get the products to her door within weeks if not days. Driven by the Internet, new forms of retail combine urgency with mobile commerce, social media, gaming and crowdsourcing.

The growing power of the consumer is stirring the potential of a tug-of-war with the brands themselves as shoppers demand exactly what they want and how they want it and they want it right away. The balance of power between retailers, shoppers and brands began to shift long ago, but now consumers are no longer content to steer the fashion vehicle they want to own it.

Yet even as some brands respond to the growing consumer pressure for an ever-faster fashion cycle and openness, others, like Tom Ford, are attempting to wrestle the reins back from consumers' hands and return to a slower, gentler era. "I get fashion immediacy....I don't get the need for fashion immediacy. I think it's bad," Ford told WWD.

He may be fighting a losing battle, for Ford appears to be the proverbial boy with his finger in the dike. As he tries to push the pendulum back, scores of businesses are launching to cater to consumers' every wish, whim, idea and fantasy and at low cost. Then there are brands like Burberry, which …