Fashion Retailer Shein Announces Pop-Up Store at The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano

Global e-retailer Shein, known for its affordable womenswear, will open a pop-up store at The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano next weekend.

China-based Shein will host a public pop-up store from August 26-28, just after making a stop in Houston earlier this month. Items from two Dallas-area designers will be featured: Shelby Hilliard, whose collection is designed to be inclusive with a focus on petite women, and Fort Worth-based Cynthia V. Johnsen, who specializes in womenswear.

The online retailer is known for TikTok trends, where women show off their “Shein tours,” multiple fashion pieces they bought at the store, usually at a discount. Some influencers will even suggest online codes to be used at checkout to get massive discounts on already cheap clothing.

A Shein pop-up store held this month in Houston.(Shein Group)

Fast fashion, or clothing made in large quantities at low prices, has been criticized for its effect on the environment.

According to a report from Princeton University, the fast fashion industry exports its products from abroad to avoid the high minimum wages demanded by governments in more developed countries. Observers have also raised concerns about the excessive use of water, the use of plastic microfibers, and the excessive consumption of clothing. Princeton also points out the use of viscose, also known as rayon, which is extremely harmful to the environment because it is made with harmful chemicals and unethical resources for the material.

Last month, the fast fashion store was questioned by the Mexican Ministry of Culture because some details of Shein’s “Fan-Trim Top with Floral Print” were similar to a traditional huipil embroidery made in 2017 by an artisanal clothing brand. southeastern Mexico, according to Reuters.

The Shops at Willow Bend was recently acquired by Centennial, a Dallas-based real estate investment firm, with investors Dallas-based Cawley Partners and New York-based Waterfall Asset Management.

Shein has nearly 10,000 employees worldwide and sells in more than 150 countries, according to its corporate website. The store was founded in 2012 as a business-to-consumer fashion e-retailer by e-commerce expert Chris Xu.

The store will be open on August 26 and 27 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on August 28 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Source: www.dallasnews.com