A Guide to Fashion Forecasting - Fairchild Books

34 The Principles of Fashion Forecasting
summAry
Fashion forecasters use a potent mix of experience, vision, and carefully targeted
research to figure out what will appeal to the consumer’s next desire.
Forecasters look for clues at runway shows, the club scene, and red carpet
events, as well as gather data on spending trends and demographic distinctions,
keeping an eye on trendsetters and on adventurous street fashionistas.
Combined with the forecaster’s instinctive understanding of fashion,
all of the data and observational research can add up to an accurate
glimpse of things to come. Forecasting fashion is more than a mere guessing
game, but an exercise of analysis, creativity, and developed skill. Designers
and manufacturers rely on the fashion forecaster’s ability to predict
new trends to turn out lines of successful products that profit from
market developments. No wonder, then, that an entire industry relies so
much on the predictions of the forecasting specialists. No wonder that
the forecasting niche has become a thriving industry in its own right.
Key Terms
• Fashion forecasting
• Trend report
• Fashion
• Style
• Taste
• Trends
• Trend forecasters
• Trend spotters
• Trendsetters
• Short-term forecasting
• Long-term forecasting
• Researching
• Editing
• Interpreting and Analyzing
• Predicting
• Communicating