How does fashion trend forecasting work?

February 04, 2020

Taniya Khatri

“What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language." —Miuccia Prada

Fashion in today’s era is how you present yourself, your personality, ideologies and your perspective of the world around you. Regarded with utmost importance, fashion is what influences us all in a million ways. A 'trend' in the fashion industry is defined as the behavior of a large group of consumers which is accepted and followed by them over a period of time. It is popularly said that “trends are profits waiting to happen.”

Trends Forecasting

The ever-dynamic industry of fashion sets trends for the general public to follow and this dynamism only points towards the harsh reality that one day you are in fashion and the next day you are out. The trends set by the fashion industry change before the direction of wind changes. Trends in the fashion world refer to novel designs and silhouettes like the concept of A-line Anarkali gaining audience attention, colors that are 'in' for a season like olive green which is the go-to color this winter season, developments in fabrics and fiber markets like the emergence of chromorophous fabrics (color-changing fabrics).

“In fashion, one day you're in, another day you're out” – Heidi Klum

Although a tough task to keep up with the swerving trends and do's and don’ts of the fashion industry, it is actually this pattern of unpredictability and variability that appeals to the audience.
Well, one factor worthy of discussing is who sets these trends, who decides what is 'in' fashion and what is not. The fashion industry is a mix of designers, influencers and trendsetters is also shaped by the audience requirements, therefore it is subjected to being influenced by more than one factor.

What Is Fashion Forecasting?

With a gamut of forces influencing and molding the fashion industry, there is a need for sort of a higher power to keep these influences organized and predict the trends further to come. This job is meticulously handled by fashion forecasters.
Forecasting, in simple terms, is predicting something for the future after examining past and present facts. Every industry (for example- the automobile industry, food, and beverage industry) has forecasters to determine the variables that might appeal to the consumers a little in the future and help induce an increase in the sales of the brand.

Forecasters study the previous industry fashion trends and factors that affect consumer behavior towards various products. For example in the fashion industry, fashion forecasters study color schemes to follow the coming season while the automobile industry forecasters study the technological advancements that can be added to cars. Forecasting is absolutely based on the study of upcoming trends.

Fashion trend forecasters track how trends evolve and are accepted by the industry, understand the vision of fashion brands and business along with consumers they target. Fashion trend forecasting is also important in the sense that apart from predicting future trends it helps choose appropriate merchandise for a particular brand along with its targeted consumer base.

Fashion trend forecasting might seem like a recent pop-up career choice that can be managed by any and everyone with just a little know-how of the fashion industry, but instead, it is actually a properly defined stream in the fashion world requiring technical and statistical knowledge to study past and present trends and analyze them methodically to predict future trends. It is a career option gaining importance on a global scale.

What Is The Importance Of Fashion Trend Forecasting

When we talk of any industry, it is important to analyze past trends while understanding the current ongoing ones to gain a crystal clear understanding of the turnout of future trends. Forecasting is an essential component for the fashion industry as it provides a heads up on the foreseeable trends allowing brands to start production which would help to meet the consumer demand in the future.

Fashion forecasting is done to make it possible for iconic fashion brands to start production on the latest fashion trends in advance, like 9-12 months before the product reaches the market, to meet the large consumer demand of the products.

Although Fashion trend forecasting has a paramount role to play on levels of the industry from haute couture to ready-to-wear, the textile sector in fashion makes the utmost use of fashion forecasting. It takes an immense amount of time to produce textiles and develop fabrics. It takes more than 18 months for the textile sector to produce the product before It is ready to see the light of day.

Hence, the prediction of trends by fashion forecasters proves to be of incalculable value to the textile industry as it gives ample time to the sector to work on several ideas and products.
Who Are Fashion Forecasters

Fashion trend forecasters are basically lifestyle detectives. They have to be vigilant constantly, they have to be on a lookout for ongoing trends whether they reach ultimate popularity or not.

Fashion forecasters keep a track of shifts in mindsets and behaviors of consumers towards fashion products and also observe the evolution of different trends in various brands.

Fashion Forecasting is no child’s play, your interest, and penchant for fashion is not the only factor making you eligible to dip your toe into this career option. It requires knowledge of the fashion industry, trends, color schemes, fabric choices available and the ability to statistically study these to help you try your luck out for being a fashion forecaster.

Experienced fashion designers and merchandisers have gained fame as popular fashion forecasters and trendsetters. It is sometimes that freshly graduated fashion designers become forecasters for popular consumer fashion brands like Harleen Sabarwal, fashion trend forecaster for Raymonds and later for Park Avenue.

2 Main Types Of Fashion Forecasting

Fashion trend forecasting takes into consideration a variety of factors but social influences in the industry have been recognized as playing a major role in determining trends. Fashion houses and leading fashion brands invest in fashion trend forecasters, who travel extensively with the aim of examining and analyzing fashion trends across the globe. Fashion forecasters also track trends on the internet and keep tabs on developments in fabrics and preferences of colors by the consumers. These fashion forecasts heavily influence iconic fashion labels like Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Burberry, and Gucci. These brands work 12 months ahead while designing season collections, for which fashion forecasting works like oxygen works for lungs.

Two popular fashion forecasting strategies are-

Long Term Fashion Forecasting-

Long term forecasting, as the name suggests is the process of analyzing and evaluating fashion trends that help to predict future trends that last for long. Long term fashion forecasting is forecasting fashion which lasts over two years. For example, neon colors have been popular the whole of last year and the trend has carried on this year too, this explains the idea of long term fashion forecasting. Areas to keep an eye on while finding inspiration for long term fashion forecasting are changes in international and domestic demographics, shifts in the fashion industry along with market structures, consumer expectations, values, and impulsion to buy, new developments in technology and science, and shifts in the economic, political, and cultural alliances between certain countries.

Short Term Fashion Forecasting -

Also known as fad forecasting, short term fashion forecasting predicts trends that are valid for a limited span of time, after which it exhausts. It borrows from current events and pop-up cultures to identify possible trends. Seasonal fashion is an example of short term fashion forecasting. Important areas to keep an eye on when finding inspiration for short term fashion forecasting are currently ongoing, art, science, and technology.

Although there might seem an obvious difference between long term fashion forecasting and short term fashion forecasting, there are also subtle differences hidden that are worth mentioning.

Short term fashion forecasting predicts fashion trends for one to two years in the future while long term fashion forecasting envisions fashion trends for five or more years.

Long-term fashion trend forecasting influences a fashion firm's trend strategies and helps make decisions related to extending product lines, initiating new business, and reviving brand images while short term fashion forecasting only focuses on new product features that vary quickly like color and style.

Fashion Forecasting Agencies In India

Activities in fashion forecasting are sales research, consumer research, and marketing research.

Responsibilities in fashion trend forecasting include making and reporting fashion predictions, co-ordination with apparel companies and the textile sector.

Some fashion trend forecasting agencies have been working and making their name in the industry like Trend Tablet, Peclers Paris, Fashion Scoop, and WGSN while some of the agencies working in India are F-Trend and Fashion Glamazon.

I knock Fashion is another fashion website offering a plethora of fashion forecasting blogs. Visit https://www.iknockfashion.com/to follow the latest trend updates of the fashion industry.

Insights Through Market Research By I Knock Fashion
According to a recent survey conducted by I Knock Fashion reaching to a sample size of 100 fashion oriented people, the following was revealed about the consumer's behavior towards the latest fashion trends of 2020 that were forecasted in the year 2019 and their actions towards the latest trends.

The source of information and buying of latest fashion trends: There are two major sources for gaining information and buying of fashion

The Indian consumers as many perceive do not pry only about the traditional Indian silhouettes instead the youth is going experimental with their looks and attires. As per the research by I Knock Fashion, about 85% of the fashion audience is experimental and would like to try new trends

Mood Boards

Mood boards are a popular concept in fashion and hold immense importance in fashion forecasting. It refers to collages made either physically by cutting images, material, text from magazines and newspapers and arranging them creatively or digitally arranging images found online from several websites creatively to inspire new designs.

The relevance of Mood Boards

Mood boards help in organizing and refining inspiration for future designs. In other words, we can describe them as an inexpensive version of prototypes.

In fashion forecasting, mood boards hold distinct importance as they help display past trends methodically and pave way for discerning the latest fashion trends.

Latest Trends In Fashion And Fashion Forecasting

Latest trends forecasted in fashion weeks for 2020 spring/summer fashion are-

Lace-Up Shoes Over Pants
Exaggerated Victorian Sleeves For Dramatic Effect
Accessorize Outfits With Pastel Bucket Hats
Faux Leather Jumpsuits
Square Toed Heels To Make Your Feet Pop
Oversized Gold Necklaces
Long Faux Leather Coats
Match Your Long Boots With Feminine Dresses

Fashion trend forecasting or fashion forecasting is an elaborative study involving research and analysis. Fashion trend forecasting is a medium beneficial to all sectors from textiles to consumer buying behavior. So don't forget to load your wardrobe with what is in fashion this 2020.