Trend Forecasting

Trend Forecasting Process
Fashion Forecasting
 The creative process that can be
understood, practiced, and applied by
anyone who has the tools.
 Need to have a balanced view that seeks
out new styles breaking the cultural edge,
and the reality of changing demographics,
identifies the fad, and the long wave of
change.
Uses:
•product planning,
•gain market share,
•position products against competitors,
•shape collections,
•style directions,
•color and
•textiles directions, etc.
Steps in developing a forecast
1. Collect facts about past trends/forecasts
2. Determine cause of change in the past
3. Look at differences between past
forecasts and consumer behavior
4. Identify factors likely to affect future trends
5. Apply forecasting tools and techniques
accurately.
6. Follow the forecast continually- see if
expectations deviate
7. Revise the forecast when necessary.
Forecasting Scans-
Media Scan
1. Fashion scans- follow latest fashion and lifestyle
trends: visit Fashion capitals, scan media,
network with people in the creative fields (arts,
entertainment, interior design, cosmetics, and
architecture.)
1. Consumer Scans- Consumer segmentation,

point of sale data (retailers and manufactures).
Fashion scan + consumer scan= fashion analysis-

what will happen next!
Media Scan:
Trend analysis and synthesis
Soak up news that Internet- Popular Culture
relates to change! (world wide)
National newspaper
Watch past fashion
Trade papers- WWD, shows
California Apparel
News, Advertising Age
Take a trip to popular
shopping venues,
Fashion and Lifestyle fashionable
magazines( food, neighborhoods.
travel, home décor,
health, gossip, political,
business, science, Pop Culture: movies,
men’s and women’s) music, TV, books,
theater, art.
Media Scan:
 Collect bits and pieces from a broad spectrum of sources.
 Link signals, shape them into a vision of what the future
may be.
 Pay attention to:
1. New and unusual business
2. Innovative and novel products
3. Unusual travel destinations
4. New, rediscovered, or redesigned leisure activities.
5. New shopping locations, store designs, services.
6. Stories about people and their adjustment to life’s
challenges.
7. Neighborhoods with interesting mix of people, shopping or
ethnic cultures.
Media Scan:
 Collect information( folders), organize it into a list of
themes, issues, ideas, that capture your attention.
 Trends require a label!
 Start general and become specific!
-general examples: new music, financial issues, cult
movies, unusual jobs
- specific examples: “cyberstyle”, “GenNesters”,
“Asian Influence”
*Once the trend begins to emerge, think about how
the trend relates to a specific product category or
target market.
Describe the Zeitgeist-
“ The Spirit of the Times”
 Fashion is a reflection of the times in which it is

created and worn.
 Fashion responds to what is modern, all cultural
components respond to the spirit of the times.
 The Zeitgeist covers all product categories.
 Media reports culture but is also shaped by it.
 Lifecycles are associated with the Zeitgeist.
 “An expression of modernity, of the current state of
culture, of the incipient and unarticulated tastes of
the consuming public.”
Zeitgeist
 Pay attention to: Style interactions between
apparel, cuisine, sports, architecture,
interiors, automobiles, toys, vocations,
pastimes, and play.
Research
 Describe- what is shaping the trend,
 Why has the trend developed
 Who is leading the trend.
 Look to past designs- Cyclical nature
of fashion!
 Analyze the trends that affect your
target market.
Forecast for 2010! Color
 Color Story- combined into prints,
fabrics.
 Psychology of color- color
preferences.
 Separate for men, women, youth
Color Marketing- Name
 Name a color with imagination, should be
able to be used across product categories,
understand your customer’s perception of
the colors.
 Examples from the environment:
 Natural phenomena sky, sunshine, grass green.
 Flora- poppy red, moss green, orchid
 Fauna- flamingo pink, robin egg blue
 Gemstones- amber, copper
 Food and drink- caramel, champagne,
 Spices- paprika, curry red
 Dyes- indigo
 Building materials- adobe, terra cotta, bronze
 Locations- Capri blue
Color Cycles
 High chroma-- multi colored--subdue colors--
earth tones-- achromatic colors (black, white,
grey)--purple.
 Look at your media scan--- what did you see-
colors celebrities were wearing, locations,
music covers, interiors, museum exhibits, toys,
electronics, food, graphics, ect. What is selling
in stores?!
 May be done in house or use a professional
color system like PANTONE.
 Images will help you describe color choices.
 Predict 4-7 colors per direction.
 Think about season- weather, temperature
Textiles
 Overall style: botanical, romantic, folkloric
 Interpretation- realistic, abstract, geometric.
 Scale- small vs large scale motifs
 Figure ground relationship- blank space vs.
crowded patterns
 Reference to art styles Art Deco
 Complexity
 Cultural reference- Asian inspired, African motifs
 Historic references- time periods
 Color story- sherbet colors, tropical, brights with
Neutral.
 Motifs- golf, seashell, animal print.
The Look: Design
 The totality of the look:  Fit- body hugging, loose
minimalist, feminine,  Details- collar, pocket,
sexy redifined. sleeve, cuff
 Theme or Mood: gothic  Exaggeration in details.
romanticisim  Trims- beading,
 Swing of fashion feathers, lace
pendulum- flared to  Findings- button,
narrow zippers, snaps
 Proportions of pieces-  Fabric type- woven,
placement of waistline knits,
 Silhouette- tubular,  Fabric finishing- dyeing,
hourglass, wedge abrasion
 Point of emphasis-  Specific fabrics-
shoulders, bust, waist transparent, velvet, ect.
Trend Reporting; Label the trend
 Look- retro, Japanese influence
 Mood or spirit- youthful, playful
 Lifestyle message
 Tie in with celebrity
 Target Market- urban youth
 Brand image
 Concept- career casual
 Source of inspiration- Moroccan
 Pop culture influence

Trend Forecasting

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Trend Forecasting

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Trend Forecasting

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Trend Forecasting Process

1. Consumer Scans- Consumer segmentation,

Fashion scan + consumer scan= fashion analysis-

 Fashion is a reflection of the times in which it is

You might also like