What is fashion forecasting?

As we end of the year, stylists and other fashion gurus will be up and about predicting what will be hot come the New Year and what will not.

Call them trendsetters or whatever, this ‘IT’ crowd determine what you and I will be wearing and for this reason, they matter a whole lot in the fashion industry.

To help you understand the concept and what the fuss is all about, below is a breakdown of what fashion forecasting involves.

Fashion forecasting is a concept that relates to identifying upcoming trends. It focuses on predicting and designing fashion based on elements such as color, fabrics, textures, accessories, graphics, and foot wear and so on.

A fashion forecaster will use these elements to identify the contemporary trends of fashion that are in alignment with the on-going season. The information drawn out by the fashion forecasters will be analyzed and used for presentation on runways and for display in stores for the seasons to come. Fashion forecasting covers industries other than clothing and footwear, which are, food and beverages, literature, automobiles, medicine and home furnishings.

Fashion is one of the most competitive industries in the world. There’s a huge number of retailers and brands scrambling to have their products worn by consumers. Fashion forecasting therefore plays a crucial role in dictating brand direction in establishment of new products or services.

Every industry will always seek to outcompete the other if they run along a similar line of business. It is therefore important to stay on top with the trends as a necessity for attention and custom retention.

Trends come and go quicker than anyone would anticipate. The modern consumer will always want to copy and stay in style and thus, the expertise of a forecaster to designers and retailers comes as an advantage in ensuring that they don't fall behind the competition.

To master any skill, all you need to have is interest. In fashion, a forecaster should present interest in a wide range of aspects from different cultures. These factors greatly impact the trends of the modern world. As a passionate forecaster, one has to be intuitive and open to new ideas whether or not it appeals to you. This way, one is able to identify trends, spot similarities and find the gap to be filled for the next fashion trend.

When it comes to fashion forecasting, there are two main categories, short-term and long-term fashion forecasting.  

Short-term fashion forecasting runs on the principle of trends discovery based on current global and domestic events such as sports, technology, art and culture. Awareness of events such as global warming can be raised by designers where they limit the release of non-cotton garments.

Long-term fashion forecasting focuses on the analysis and evaluation of market trends over an extended duration. This category of forecasting identifies the market based on factors such as cultural and environmental changes, urban and suburban demographics, customer expectations and new developments in various fields. The information obtained from this research can be presented to brands and retail businesses. This will educate them on customers’ requirements thus helping them to develop and manufacture products in line with that.