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Fast Fashion is Coming for Cycling w/ Collections from Zara and H&M

H&M and Zara cycling clothing
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Perhaps a sign of the growing popularity of cycling, you can now find cycling-specific clothing at some of the world’s biggest ‘fast fashion’ brands. Fast fashion has been a popular topic of conversation recently as the world grapples with the environmental impact of its production and waste. As a result of global pressure and new EU regulations, some of the largest retailers like H&M and Zara have been forced to increase their sustainability goals to use more recycled and sustainable fibers.

Meanwhile, it seems that both brands have also decided to make a push into more sport-focused clothing including cycling. True to the fast fashion playbook, the pieces are fairly affordable compared to a lot of cycling clothing, and they look… not bad? Zara has been at this for a few years now, but unlike the collection Zara launched in collaboration with Fizik in 2022, there does not appear to be any connection for the latest clothing. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be any women’s cycling clothing at all currently on the Zara website.

H&M on the other hand has both men’s and women’s pieces, with more inclusive sizing – XS-3XL for men, and XS-XXL for women. The H&M DryMove collection includes full kits for men and women, though only the men get bib shorts. There are also more casual pieces like the DryMove Cycling T-Shirt and Water Replellent Bike Shorts.

It’s also interesting to see the attempt at transparency from H&M in their Materials & Suppliers section for each garment. It seems to suggest that there is recycled polyester used to create the garments, and while they tell you exactly what percentage is polyester, there is no information to the percentage of recycled polyester, if any. You can also click on the supplier information to see that the textiles for these pieces come from the Chisage Apparel Group in China.

Pricing is similar for both brands with cycling bib shorts selling for $99, and jerseys for $60-65, though much of the H&M clothing is already on deep discount. Is it any good? Will it actually last? Is this a good thing for cycling? That remains to be seen.

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11 Comments
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Tim
Tim
1 year ago

No. Just no.

Eggs Benedict
Eggs Benedict
1 year ago
Reply to  Tim

Is it the clothing, or the Zoolander poses, or both. Blue Steel, FTW!

Fig Ciocc
Fig Ciocc
1 year ago
Reply to  Tim

If this was Rapha or Le Col or whatever trendy cycling brand was hip this week you’d probably think it was great. Honestly with the frowny face pictures. I had to check to make sure this wasn’t an article about Rapha.

Mike
Mike
1 year ago

Ugh, the green back pockets look awful… Also – no zipped pocket, so it’s a no-go for me…

Kalo
Kalo
1 year ago

This isn’t really fast fashion as per boohoo or seido. Mainstream cycling clothing seems as obsessed with seasonal fashion or this years colours and styles and probably results in the same churn as the large high street outlets.
So “Is this a good thing for cycling?” – it’s probably no different?

Anonymous
Anonymous
1 year ago
Reply to  Kalo

This is fast fashion for cycling.

Slow fashion for cycling is a plaid long sleeve shirt and jorts.

Fig Ciocc
Fig Ciocc
1 year ago

Good. More production of cycling kit raises the bar across the range. I remember when if you were doing lots of training you really did need to drop a lot for Assos, Castelli, and Rapha because they had access to better chamois from EI and they figured out how to cut their stuff to work well. Nowadays you can find stuff at that level for <$90 for bibs and less that <$70 for jerseys.

Rixter
Rixter
1 year ago

More stuff for the landfill. Really eco friendly

Glenn
Glenn
1 year ago
Reply to  Rixter

or a dumping ground in the Atacama

Flomoe
Flomoe
1 year ago

PAS Rapha maap all fast fashion there is no difference.

King County
King County
1 year ago

I see the comments. This looks good for the home Peleton user / spin class attendee that never visited a bike shop and if ‘hard core’ cyclists buy it that’s fine. To the average person cycling clothing may all look the same. If it flops buy it at a discount.

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