Linda Chang

Forever 21 is using holograms in place of live models in a series of fashion shows this summer and fall. During the shows, holographic models wearing designs from Forever 21’s new line walk the runway, disappear into starbursts and climb invisible staircases that light up underfoot. The fashion retailer conceived the promotion with digital agency space150.

As Forever 21 continues to rocket into the 21st century, competitors are undoubtedly trying to decode the fast-fashion chain's successful formula. Low prices? Trendy merchandise that cycles in and out of stores on a daily basis? Super-size stores modeled after the 86,000-square-foot location that recently opened in Cerritos? Forever 21 has all that, but the real secret weapon may be a couple of women who look as if they're barely out of high school. Linda Chang, 28, and her sister Esther, 23, the Ivy League-educated daughters of Forever 21's Korean American founders Don and Jin Sook Chang, seem to have the stylish eye and marketing savvy to take the $2-billion brand into the future and make it a competitor on a global level with European fast-fashion giants H&M, Mango and Zara.