A Guide to Fashion Forecasting - Fairchild Books

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12 The Principles of Fashion Forecasting WhO fOreCAsTs fAshION? Fashion forecasters are the individuals or teams that strive to identify upcoming trends and deliver the findings to the industries that provide products for the consumers. Designers and manufacturers often rely on the forecaster’s information to guide them in the process of creating products that blend the trend information with their own brand image or identity. These trend forecasters are the prescient individuals who combine knowledge of fashion, history, consumer research, industry data, and intuition to guide product manufacturers and business professionals into the future. They help to maximize the opportunity for triumph in fashion businesses. Their vision helps designers and manufacturers ride the wave of barely perceived novelty to profit and mainstream recognition. In addition to fashion forecasters, a variety of industry professionals participate in trend forecasting as part of their jobs. Designers and creative directors have historically been involved in identifying and creating fashion trends but are not the only professionals who forecast. Business and retail executives, buyers, product developers, and merchandisers collect, interpret, analyze, and predict trends to increase their business’s potential profit. Magazine and book editors, promotional directors, and advertising specialists create forecasts to help to maintain a competitive, commercial edge. Fashion design students forecast to create novel garments and collections that are relevant to current and future fashion. Fashion merchandising students learn to maximize marketing opportunities through understanding fashion forecasting. Many forecasters work in collaboration with other fashion specialists: teams of trend spotters, researchers, consultants, and fashion forecasting services.
FOWARD THINKER David Wolfe—Creative director, Doneger Creative services: money empire—Change from Creative to financial The new industry of fashion is one of building a money empire. The business direction of fashion is the modern direction; therefore, accurate forecasting relies on retail ties to inform about fi nancial matters. heads of big business and fi nancial investors are now interested in forecasting, since many of their portfolios contain companies from the apparel sector. my clients from the past were usually the creative ones: designers, illustrators, and apparel manufacturers. but now the clients are from the business sector: merchandisers, retailers, and the money people. Fashion forecasters must be intelligent, talented, and able to think “outside the box.” They need to be able to identify newness when it arrives and to have a heightened sense of inquisitiveness about all things. Forecasters do not just focus on apparel, of course. Among other things, there are forecasters who specialize in electronics, interior design, housewares, automobile design, and even packaging. Some forecasting specialists foresee fabric or color direction. Major fi ber producers, like Cotton Incorporated, employ staff forecasters whose focus is specifi c to their company’s needs. At Cotton Incorporated, product trend analysis services are a key factor in maintaining cotton’s position as the leading fi ber producer in the world of fashion. Frequent presentations and dialogue with leading designers and sourcing specialists highlight the company’s trend research and supplier information, helping to keep cotton in the minds of those who decide what will be offered to consumers in future seasons. Chapter One : Introduction to Fashion Forecasting 13
Page 1 and 2: FASHION forward A Guide to Fashion
Page 3 and 4: Fashion
Page 5 and 6: Executive Director & General Manage
Page 8 and 9: Preface xv Acknowledgments xix Abou
Page 10 and 11: 3 FashIon movement 99 Objectives 99
Page 12 and 13: 7 color 183 Objectives 183 what Is
Page 14: 10 creatIng and presentIng a Foreca
Page 17 and 18: xvi Preface discussed, predominant
Page 19 and 20: xviii Preface They include: • Ita
Page 21 and 22: Itay Arad—CEO and cofounder of Fa
Page 23 and 24: Scott Markert—sales manager for L
Page 25 and 26: inTroducTion To Fashion ForecasTing
Page 27 and 28: What makes a product fashionable? W
Page 29 and 30: Fashion forecasters, through their
Page 31: customer) must come together. When
Page 35 and 36: Figure 1.5A Celebrities are followe
Page 37 and 38: Where Do Forecasters FinD their inF
Page 39 and 40: In practice, forecasters, whether a
Page 41 and 42: FOWARD THINKER lilly berelovich—O
Page 43 and 44: The Tate Gallery in London periodic
Page 45 and 46: hOW Is fOreCAsTINg DONe? The five p
Page 47 and 48: cluding home furnishings manufactur
Page 49 and 50: FOWARD THINKER frank bober—CeO of
Page 51 and 52: CAreer OPPOrTuNITIes • Trendstop
Page 53 and 54: FOWARD THINKER Kai Chow— Creative
Page 55: ACTIvITIes 1. Current Fashion Infor

A Guide to Fashion Forecasting - Fairchild Books

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