I sense a great amount of negativity in most of the comments here, with some lamenting the demise of the 3 month production cycle, denouncing "cheap immigrant labor" etc. Personally, I think this is a VERY positive change. Not only does a fast production cycle mean lots of different designs, but lots of different designs in limited numbers. So, we don't have the whole country wearing the same shirt/jeans.
One thing I am concerned about is that the predominance of Koreans in the market will keep other nationalities/races out. But I think the article addresses this as well: the children of the immigrants, future leaders of that industry, are pretty 'Americanized' and perhaps won't be so cliquey.
Though the article only briefly touches on it, the Koreans are far from having a stronghold in the industry. With razor thin margins, the vast majority of these businesses are in perpetually precarious situations. Many of these businesses went belly up in the early 2000s as the industry became a race to the bottom. This recent resurgence is the result of some of these family businesses being able to win back some margin via the second generation being able to acclimate themselves into American and overall high fashion society; they're no longer just a commodity businesses but also the trend setters. However, they're far from the only ones doing it. The chinese, in particular, are starting to even outpace the Korean families.
One thing I am concerned about is that the predominance of Koreans in the market will keep other nationalities/races out. But I think the article addresses this as well: the children of the immigrants, future leaders of that industry, are pretty 'Americanized' and perhaps won't be so cliquey.