Three Ways to Forecast the Next Fashion Trend
Image from Bohemian Traders via Flaunter
Trend forecasting is a little like predicting the weather. Following the current patterns and comparing them to past can give you a good idea of what’s to come. When there’s little time to focus on it all, behold the fashion lover’s guide helping you find the best before the rest!
1. Check off what’s on the way out, but don’t forget it:
You’d be amazed at how one top trend can form the basis of the next. The ‘It’s been done and let’s move on’ mentality isn’t always correct, so bear in mind that past knowledge comes into play when trying to predict the future.
For example, cargo pants were having a major moment in the colder months of 2024, bringing that effortless cool to both everyday looks and dressed-up street style. Who thought that cargo pants would reappear from the 2000s? Bomber jackets are still going strong too, proving they’re the perfect statement piece to round out any outfit. These trends vibe together naturally, showing that practical can definitely be stylish. The lesson here: know your past, to know your future.
2. Look outside the box:
Times are changing… Being a sponge and consuming as much material as humanly possible doesn’t have to mean hours of magazine flipping. Believe it or not, social media offers itself as one of the most up to date forms of style inspiration. The real-time nature of it all means we can now see high-end designer collections as soon as the models step off the runway.
There is now a direct link between marketing and design goals due to social media. The New York Times has even recognised that designers such as Zac Posen and Rebecca Minkoff are crowdsourcing inspiration from their online customers.
Some other quick ways to identify trends are what you’d least expect. Think TV, movies, industry reports and even song lyrics. Taking note of these and looking for patterns in different mediums can help you find the correlations you need for an accurate forecast.
3. Cut down on time and look to industry relevant sites:
Let’s face it, sorting through brands separately can take hours. Using platforms like Flaunter means you can gauge future trends as they come. As a media user, you have free access to a huge spectrum of brand names and their most current, and in many cases, as-yet unreleased collections. The best part is having such a huge collection of images aggregated in one place can give you a literal snapshot of the themes, colours and styles running throughout a bunch of the latest collections. Now that’s a timesaver.
For real-time runway action, you can also look to Vogue Runway for the most current collections from global designers, and pinpoint predictions yourself. We have been loving Paris Fashion Week 2024!!
As a brand, there are also some cool creative agencies such as Trend Stop who can point you in the right direction by using online consultancy and trend reports specifically tailored to you. With a forecast to work off, you can ensure any future commercial endeavours you may want wish to embark on.
