What is Fashion Forecasting?
Fashion forecasting is the process of predicting future trends in clothing by analyzing colors, materials, and consumer behavior. It combines data analysis and cultural research to determine what styles will appeal to customers in upcoming seasons.
The purpose of fashion forecasting professionally is to help brands navigate future collections, reduce the risk of designs not landing with their customer base, and stay relevant in a fast-paced industry.
WGSN & Fashion Forecast Tools
Fashion forecasters use tools like WGSN, Tagwalk, FashionSnoops, Trend Union, Vogue Runway and more to make their analysis. They research street style, influencer and consumer behavior, and cultural trends.
Fashion Reports will typically include:
-
Themes & Concepts
-
Color Palettes - Pantone Visuals
-
Materials and Textures
-
Shapes and Silhouettes
-
Key Consumer Insights
Generally, these reports navigate fashion trend predictions up to six months to a year in advance.
WGSN is the world’s leading trend forecasting agency and is recognized as the industry standard for predicting fashion and lifestyle trends. Since 1998, the company has generated trend reports with data-driven insights, consumer behavior analysis and visual reports.
WGSN can cost companies up to $25,000 per year depending on their plan. They are the most trusted global resource used by thousands of companies world-wide. WGSN trend reports save companies the time and effort of conducting extensive fashion research, providing data-driven insights and inspiration to guide future collections.
Building a Clothing Collection Based On Fashion Forecast Reports
Designers and brands aren’t just designing clothing to design. There is always a deeper meaning and excessive research behind fashion.
Designers and buyers analyze fashion forecast reports to assist them in producing their collections.
More than likely, they will develop visual mood boards that express their main themes and concepts for that collection’s quarter.
For example, “Q1 MOOD BOARD / THEMES” presentation that could include detailed descriptions on themes, visuals of color palettes, styles and materials, and customer insights.
A designer or product developer will always have the customer in mind when selecting the shape and silhouette, material or pattern, and colorways of a garment. No detail is made at random.
For designers, creative directors, product developers, buyers, or entrepreneurs in high level positions - creating a clothing collection takes an extreme amount of pressure to deliver accordingly to that brand’s identity and customer base.
In luxury runway presentations, the fashion community will either admire and uplift a collection, or scrutinize and tear it apart. You don’t see a lot of neutral feedback when it comes to fashion.
For professionals, fashion really is that serious, especially when your job or reputation is on the line. It’s important for these individuals to stay deeply informed on the fashion industry to succeed.
If you’re data-obsessed, trend-driven, fashion industry informed, and are constantly building mood boards, a career in fashion forecasting may be for you.