A Guide to Fashion Forecasting - Fairchild Books

10 The Principles of Fashion Forecasting
Trends are the first signal of change in general direction or movement.
To identify a trend, forecasters recognize the similarities of information
about style and details of a look and translate these details for
potential consumers. Trends are not limited to fashion; they also affect
the consumer’s perception and choice of foods, movies, books, vacation
destinations, and products. Trends of the moment are constantly changing
as consumers reevaluate their ideas about style and taste.
Several years ago, urban American men began wearing their pants well
below the natural waist, exposing a top portion of their boxer shorts. This
low-slung style, known as “saggy pants,” is an example of a trend that became
the “style” of disaffected young males, and it challenged prevailing
notions of “taste” as older generations, politicians, and school officials condemned
saggy pants as a breakdown of the moral order. When musicians,
celebrities, and people outside the urban community adopted this look, it
evolved into mainstream fashion. Eventually, this urban trend was replaced
by styles that include “skinny jeans” and high-waist pants.
Why fOreCAsT fAshION?
Like any business that caters to consumers’ ever-changing tastes, the fashion
business can be complex and full of uncertainties, dependent on the
whims of the consumer. For fashion entrepreneurs, reliable trend direction
can lead to early business successes. Understanding, knowing, and
predicting the needs and desires of consumers help the designers, retailers,
and manufacturers make well-informed decisions.
By knowing and understanding the consumer, fashion firms can
deliver the right product or service into the market at the right time,
the right place, in the right quantities priced for the right customer. For
business success, all five elements (product, time, place, quantities, and