What are Fashion Trends?

Fashion trends are the most popular clothing and accessories in a given time period. Microtrends like high-waisted jeans and tiny sunglasses can change in a matter months to years. Macro trends are more affected by lifestyle and demographic changes and tend to change over a longer time period than fashion trends.

What is Trend Forecasting in Fashion?

Trend forecasting is the study of how to predict the future market. Trend forecasters are employed in all industries and use data from sales history to predict future opportunities. Fashion forecasting, a field in the fashion industry, is concerned with forecasting future fashion trends. This includes color, styling techniques, fabric textures and other factors that will stimulate consumer demand. Trend reports are created by fashion forecasters and used by product developers to design new clothes or accessories for brands.

What is Long-Term Trend Forecasting?

Macro trends are major shifts in fashion that will last for at least two years. Long-term forecasting is about macro trends. These are the big picture trends that will impact the fashion industry, such as changes in demographics and lifestyles and how clothes are made and sold.

What is short-term trend forecasting?

Forecasting short-term has to do micro trends. Forecasts for the short-term change season to season. They are usually influenced by current events and pop culture.

5 Trends Fashion Brands Can Forecast

Every brand has a different trend forecasting process. For example, womenswear brands are more involved in micro trend analysis than menswear companies because they produce more collections each year. Forecasting depends on the company’s size and target market. However, there are many reliable methods for forecasting trends.

In-house trend forecasters: Many large fast-fashion brands are vertically integrated. This means that their trend forecasting is done in house. This allows fashion forecasters to collaborate directly with product development teams in order to create new products.
Going to fashion shows: Trend forecasters used to do most of their research at the fashion shows. They noted the most promising looks and brought the information from the catwalks to chain-store product designers and fashion magazines such as Vogue. This is known as “top-down forecasting” and refers to the way fashion trends flow down from high-end couture runways to high-street shops.
Looking to influencers: Trend forecasters today are more likely than ever to look to street style, blogs, and influencers for the latest trends. This is known as “bottom-up forecasting” and involves closely following a target market in order to predict future trends.
Looking at other industries: Independent fashion designers may opt to not forecast trends and instead create mood boards that are based on film, art, and nature. This will help them inspire their own collections.

See also Why a Job in Fashion?

Trend forecasters use a mix of “top-down and “bottom up” forecasting to forecast the future fashion. They also use their intimate knowledge of the fashion industry and intuition to predict the future.