Fashion designing industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the whole world. One of the biggest reasons for the fast growth is that, fashion is more of a necessity than a luxury thing. Therefore, fashion designing is no more a person or specifically a fashion designer’s business, but rather it is a fully developed corporation. And, to run a corporate, different methods, processes, research, and analysis are required. Among them, fashion forecasting is one of the most significant research methods that helps designers and firms to create eye-catching and profitable designs for their consumers.
The literal meaning of forecasting is to estimate or predict a future result, event, or trend. So, it is the process of collecting relevant data, arranging, and analyzing, and, based on the final analysis, a future event or trend is predicted or forecasted.
Fashion forecasting is a technique and process of researching, collecting data, and articulating predictions on consumers' future dressing choices and buying habits. By identifying the source, tracing the choices of consumers, analyzing the past years’ fashion choices, and distinguishing patterns of fashion trends, fashion forecasters are able to assess the consumers’ choices. Furthermore, before forecasting, fashion forecasters also research and identify the respective socio-cultural, ethical, environmental, and past and current buying tendencies and how these factors will likely affect future consumer behavior. Hence, based on such detailed study and analysis, identify the fashion designs and styles the consumers would likely to buy. Such a prediction helps the fashion designers and respective brands, and they take action accordingly.
Accurate assessment and analysis of consumers’ behaviours and trends is imperative for creating relevant and attractive fashion designs and ultimately ensuring their sale.
So, following are some of the major implications of fashion forecasting:
1. It helps in understanding the seasons; whether the fashion trends will work in the spring/summer or fall/winter.
2. It helps in understanding the gender-based likeness and choices of buyers.
3. It helps in understanding the demographic structure of a particular area.
4. It helps in understanding the economic and socio-cultural status of a particular area.
Following are the major steps in fashion forecasting:
1. Identification of study area: as we know that there is socio-cultural and geographic diversity, and hence, fashion design choices also vary from one region to another. So, first of all, forecasters need to identify the study area.
2. Collection of data: the second step is data collection from the identified area, which is a very tedious job. Sometimes, they get data very easily, but sometimes, it is very difficult to collect the desirable data.
3. Assorting and classification of data: after collecting the data, it needs to be assorted, and the redundant data must be segregated. The relevant data needs to be classified.
4. Analyzing the classified data: there are different models, through which analysis of data becomes very easy.
5. Prediction and Forecasting: after the data analysis, making the model performance and then verifying it before making the final forecast.
Following are some of the significant advantages of fashion forecasting:
1. Based on the report, it is easy to understand the consumers’ choices and hence, designers can make plans accordingly.
2. Helps in understanding the ups and downs in consumers’ choices and changes in their buying patterns.
3. Understanding the grey or weak areas that help designers not to take any such step that might fail.
4. It helps in understanding the shifting patterns in consumers’ behaviours, fashion preferences, and lifestyle, which ultimately indicate the future trends in consumer preferences.
5. It helps in developing a better understanding between fashion designers or brands and consumers. They can establish better coordination and directly supply only those products, which are in demand.
Lidewij Edelkoort is a globally known forecaster for 'Trend Union' based in Paris and also conducts trend workshops in India.
Trend forecast agencies are - Paris-based Nelly Rodi, Peclers, Promostyl from France, Doneger from the USA and others.
Color forecasting services include the Color Association of the United States (CAUS) and the Color Marketing Group (CMG).
Likewise, fashion forecasters predict which designs, silhouettes, colors, fabrics, graphics, prints, textures, etc. would be the forthcoming trends. They research and collect data and then analyze the new and emerging trends across study area to see how they may influence future fashion trends.
1. Sathyabama: Institute of Science & Technology, Department of Fashion Design. UNIT – I – Fashion Trend and Forecasting (URL - https://sist.sathyabama.ac.in)
2. Ziad Al-Halah, Rainer Stiefelhagen, & Kristen Grauman. Fashion Forward: Forecasting Visual Style in Fashion (URL - https://www.researchgate.net)
3. Chapter 1. Overview of Fashion. Fashion Studies - Class XI, NCERT.
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