Missguided gone wrong. Could this become a trend?

The collapse of fast fashion retailer Missguided has been a flash in the pan for suppliers, buyers and investors. As administrators dig into the books this week and creditors clamor for their money, the question begs: is his disappearance a wake-up call for the online rag trade, or just an isolated case of a company that lives up to its name? /p>

Missguided designs once paraded proudly around the pool at Love Island and were promoted by a flood of influencers as part of link marketing. The Manchester-based company, or at least its brand, is now set to become part of Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley's empire after his company shelled out £20m for the intellectual property rights.

Michael Murray, who has just taken the reins of the new boss of Ashley's Frasers Group, has his work cut out for him to revive Missguided, his first acquisition since he is in the hot seat.

It can cut costs by connecting Missguided to the Frasers warehouse system, and potentially its House of Fraser department stores, but it has bet on a fashion market which is clearly in flux.

Online fast fashion players have seen a boom during the pandemic as high street competition has been almost wiped out for months at a time. Additionally, the cost of processing returned items was reduced, as shoppers were more likely to keep what they purchased, given the trend towards less "fitted" looks.

Now evening dresses and workwear are back on the agenda, buyers are returning more items again and the costs of fabrics, shipping, labor- warehouse labor and energy have all increased.

Fast fashion shoppers are also facing severe pressure on their purchasing power as bills go up. Discretionary income for people under 30 fell 26% in April from a year earlier, according to Asda's latest income tracker, compared with a fall of around 11% for people aged 30 at age 64.

For now, many households are still cushioned by the savings made during lockdown, when overseas holidays, nights out and commuting were out of about. But veteran retail bosses from Marks & Spencer and Asda both expect things to get much tougher this fall as higher energy bills land on the carpet.

Missguided isn't the only online fashion vendor suffering in this suddenly much tougher market. Boohoo recently revealed that profits fell 94% year-on-year to the end of February amid weaker demand and higher costs of delivering and handling returned items.

Meanwhile, Asos made a pre-tax loss of £15.8million in the six months to the end of February, compared to a profit of £106million pounds a year earlier, as she said supply chain disruption had dampened stocks of some of her bestsellers.

These British players face increased competition from leading groups - such as Next, M&S, Zara and H&M, which are now doing increasingly efficient work online - as well as their cheap and rapidly growing Chinese rival , Shein.

Concerns over durability and money, qua nt to them, are fueling a rise in the second-hand fashion trade via websites such as Depop and Vinted, which are taking another slice of the established market.

Darcey Jupp, apparel analyst at market research firm GlobalData, said: "The real reason [Missguided] died was its lack of competitiveness with Shein and Boohoo. While many UK pureplays have struggled to maintain their pandemic momentum in 2021 as in-person shopping...