In 2025, familiar fashion brands around the world shut stores, restructured operations or disappeared. Meanwhile, Shein, the fast-fashion platform long criticised for its environmental and labour footprint, remained highly profitable. Last year, Shein told investors it was expecting a US$2 billion profit in 2025. At first glance, the conclusion appears straightforward: speed and scale are winning, while slower traditional fashion models are losing. However, this reading is dangerously...