Kim Kardashian asked fast-fashion brands not to knock off her outfit, but one was promoting its rip-off in a now-deleted Instagram post less than 3 hours later

Missguided / Kim Kardashian West / Instagram

Kim Kardashian West's photo (left) was posted to Instagram just a few hours before Missguided's knockoff (right).

• Kim Kardashian West posted a photo of herself in a golden outfit on Friday with the caption: "fast fashion brands, can you please wait until I wear this in real life before you knock it off?"
• Less than three hours later, fast-fashion brand Missguided posted a knockoff of the outfit on Instagram, alongside a photo of Kardashian West's photo. The post has since been deleted. 
• The incident reveals just how fast turnaround is in the fast-fashion industry in 2019. 

Kim Kardashian West had one request when she shared a photo of herself on Friday. 

"Going through old fitting pics & found this gold look that Kanye made for me for my Miami trip last summer (I went w the neon vibes instead)," Kardashian West captioned a photo of herself in a golden outfit on Instagram. 

"P.S. fast fashion brands, can you please wait until I wear this in real life before you knock it off?" she continued, adding a laughing-crying emoji. 

Kardashian West posted her Instagram at around 10 a.m. ET. 

By noon ET, fast-fashion brand Missguided had a response - a design that is a direct knockoff of the outfit.

Missguided / Instagram

A screenshot of Missguided's post.

One image was the one that Kardashian West had posted mere hours earlier; the second was a model wearing a similar golden outfit. 

"The devil works hard but Missguided works harder," Missguided captioned the photos.

Just before 4 p.m. ET, Missguided's post was deleted. The fast-fashion brand did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment. 

The incident perfectly encapsulates the fast-fashion industry's race to transform inspiration - whether it be celebrities like Kardashian West or runway designs - into inexpensive reality.

Fashion does not have the same level of protection as things like art, literature, and film, allowing fast-fashion brands like Zara and Forever 21 to quickly churn out less expensive copycats. 

Read more: Zara and Forever 21 have a dirty little secret

E-commerce-centric brands like Missguided and Fashion Nova are accelerating the process even more, releasing new products within hours of drawing inspiration from Instagram and celebrities. 

Fashion Nova, for example, releases more than 1,000 new clothing items every week. CEO Richard Saghian told WWD that it takes the company just 48 hours to design and manufacture a product.