A Career in Fashion Forecasting

[gian-franco]

im studying law now (well, by god's mistake i should say). i will finish it in one year and then i would like to study something fashion related as im sure that this is what i actually want to do.
and in the fashion industry, styling and trenspotting look the most interesting careers to me. could i get any use of my bachelor studies in this job? probably not too much, right?
its good that at least i have one plus - some baggage of experience in journalism.
and talking about studies, i think that its more usefull to study something realted to fashion forecasting yes? or no? i think this would be very usefull for any fashion related career.

waiting for advices.. thanks

 

[Marvystone]

Though this might interest potential fashion forecasters:

This is Luttifi Madjid, the Fashion Forecaster for Nordstrom's. It turns out that Nordstrom's forecasts the direction of fashion a full year in advance, so he was actually measuring the pulse of fashion for Spring of 2010. He suggested that soft color palettes along with Gothic (think the FIT exhibition) references to medieval and victorian times might be popular.

altamiranyc

 

[cheyqua]

ah! I've heard of him before, but never had a chance to google his photo now I see how he looks like. thanks Marvystone!

 

[Cicciolina]

Thanks Marvystone that's really interesting, karma to you!

 

[Marvystone]

interview with the CEO
Interview with Trendstop CEO Jaana Jätyri

• 1. What is Trendstop? Trendstop.com is the online trend book - We cover all aspects of fashion trend inspiration, whether you are interested in trend forecasts for Summer 2010, street fashion photos from Tokyo or close-up shots of the latest runway shows.
• 2. Where are you based? Our trend HQ is in London, where we have a team of researchers, analysts and writers that sorts through global trend research. Our research is provided by a worldwide network of trend hunters based in key cities around the world, including London, New York, L.A., Tokyo, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Barcelona and Moscow.
• 3. How do you forecast trends? Are you creating trends? Trend forecasting is a form of market research. We track down the early adopters of new fashion looks and our experienced analysts draw conclusions on when a particular look is likely to hit the mainstream. This gives our Clients time to react to forthcoming trends, and get their collections ready in time for the demand.
• 4. In an average working week, where do you go to look for trends? How many hours do you spend doing this? We are specialist trend spotters, so we really eat, beathe and sleep trends 24/7, wherever we are. This week we've been to Milan Fashion Week, Premiere Vision fabric show in Paris, Colette (the coolest store in Europe), pop concerts of Gwen Stefani and Prince, the Green is the New Black launch in Hoxton, Doors and Concrete off Carnaby St and some vintage stores in Brighton.
• 5. How do you get all the information onto the website? The site is updated daily with average five new trend stories or galleries. The beauty of an online service is that the information can be constantly updated, and publishing can happen really fast. This means that if we spot a trend today, it will be on the site tomorrow.
• 6. What does Trendstop do for the clients? We're a bit like having your on-desk research assistant when you don't have the time for the legwork or the extra budget to hire a full-blown research team. We make sure the Client is aware of all the global trends they need to know and we translate cool trend concepts into wearable commercial fashions.
  Clients also use us to get presentation, visual merchandizing, styling and photo shoot ideas.
• 7. Who are your clients? Our clients are anyone who needs accurate, cutting-edge and commercially viable trend information, from freelance designers to global corporations such as Hewlett Packard and Sony Ericsson.
• 8. Who can benefit from the information Trendstop offers? Our multi-leveled research covers all fashion market levels from catwalk couture to mass produced fast fashion. Designers, buyers and stylists all benefit from Trendstop's vast and detailed content.
  As well as the obvious fashion clients, we know that companies outside of the main clothing industry find Trendstop's many sections and cultural analysis a great tool for research on color, lifestyle and youth trends.
  We also encourage young groundbreaking designers to subscribe as we know that our service can aid them. After three seasons a young designer loses their new status and needs to hit trends in shape, color or detail, in combination with their signature look to attract a wider range of buyers and press enabling further growth.
• 9. Jaana, tell us about your background? I come from Finland but moved to London at the age of 19 to study fashion. I graduated from Central St Martins with first class honors in 1999.
  During my internship in the mid-1990's I got involved with training fashion designers to use CAD software. As well as training, it became my job to help CAD-illiterate designers at mass manufacturers to get their basic design shapes into the computer. I drew for them libraries of skirts, shirts, jackets etc. as well as all the detailing, such as pockets, collars, zips etc. to go with them.
  I discovered that each company needed similar garment basics, so soon after I graduated I set up my first company, which would sell pre-made computerized design libraries for the fashion industry. My first clients were Marks & Spencer and River Island.
  As well as basic shapes, designers wanted to know what the trend shapes for next season were - would skirts be pencil, pleated, short or long? Drawing trend specs based on the catwalks became a natural progression.
  Over the years the trend research team and the scope of our analysis grew and in 2004 it became our main business.

trendstop

Some jobs available:

Freelance TREND SPOTTER: Milan, L.A., Moscow, Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin, NYC.
Trendstop is expanding its exciting store & street trend galleries. We are looking for additional savvy, switched-on Freelance Trend Spotters in the above cities.


Requirements
Do you have a passion for photography and fashion?
Do you hang out in all the cool places?
Do you live, breathe and vibe into trends 24/7?
If the answer is yes! yes!! yes!!! then we’d love to hear from you.


Salary:Freelance rate per photo & per word. Please apply for details.

To Apply: Email your covering letter and 10 of your best street style / street art / store snaps to [email protected] Make the subject line 'Global Trendspotter + Your City'

SENIOR TREND RESEARCHER
Be part of the coolest trend team on the planet! The successful candidate will be responsible for coordinating, finalising, editing and pre-approving fashion trend stories, and liaising with the Trend Director on future fashion trends and their sourcing.


Requirements

• It is vital that you are absolutely switched on when it comes to the latest trends, brands and products.

• You have previous trend spotting or forecasting experience and strive for the highest standards in research and analysis.

• You have excellent team working skills that enable you to assist the Trend Director and Trend Editor to get the best out of the team.

• Your excellent computer and organisational skills allow you to conduct and finalize trend research promptly and efficiently, ensuring understanding and communication of trend and its application.

• We like to see some vision and passion in our team members!

Salary:to £25,000 p/a

To Apply: Email your CV and covering letter [email protected], inserting 'Senior Trend Researcher' as email subject.

 

[gius]

Trend companies

Here are the world's main trend companies

- Trend Union (Europe)
- Nelly Rodi (France)
- Peclers (France)
- INDEX (UK)
- Global Colour Research (UK)
- BrainReserve (USA)

The most esteemed are Trend Union's Li Edelkoort and Faith Popcorn of BrainReserve, being known to have the highest success in prediction

 

[gius]

trends magazines

trend magazines...

Textile View
Viewpoint
Zoom on Fashion Trends
WWD Women's Wear Daily
Book Moda
Collezioni Trends
Fashion Forecast
International Textiles
Bloom

 

[BerlinRocks]

Trend Hunter - how do you get there ?

Could anyone tell more about those people who work for "cabinets de tendance" ...
What is exactly their job ? What are their education ? etc.

Any member of TFS is a trend hunter and can tell more about the business ...

Thank you.

 

[gius]

mentionings of it found here and there
this thread: How are trends decided/ where do they come from?

there are different forms/methods
also called 'cool hunting'

or better yet ,market research.



some other threads:
the influencer: visual trends report
about trends* discussion

 

[BerlinRocks]

^thanks gius ...

please let this thread open, to keep the links ........
coz there's nothing about this job in the "Career, etc." threads !

 

[gius]

no problem. you mean trend forecasting, right?
yeah it's in the first link i posted (,which is in CEB).. i fixed the link --seemed to be broken..

to save you the trouble i suggest to start by following Lena's posts ;-) there isn't a single way to get in.. anything to keep your brain well rounded. to be able to see from many perspectives. history, design, science
the thing she stressed was years of experience in the market because you need to have had time to develop sound judgment and insight. your job will be based on choices, seeing ahead, and if you have no experience, you will just be guessing. you would not be reliable
another thing she mentioned was having plenty of air miles... :-D

that's just one idea




from my own reading.. there is also BrainReserve in the United States. one of the biggest trend forecasting companies and you have people there from a wide range of fields. psychologists, botanists, sales and business, designers.. i also read about them having a native american representative as part of their huge team. they all pool together their ideas and thoughts and find a connection

 

[BetteT]

The thread you want is here: A Career in Fashion Forecasting

The Where do Trends Come From thread, is more about the process of how a trend gets momentum ... this thread, above ... it about a having a career in forecasting.

 

[BerlinRocks]

^thanks a lot Bette T and Gius for yr help ...

Hasn't stalked Lena, but just read her posts into the Fashion Forecasting thing ...
She indeed seems to know what she's talking about ...
Will stalk her more ... lol !
some nice things she says - especially that a diploma in art history is welcomed !!!

i guess the thing can be moved overhere, now ... lol

 

[BerlinRocks]

bump !

 

[gius]

oh oups i felt there were some ideas you can get about it as a career in that other thread.. esp if you read between the lines. but thank you BetteT! this other thread is the real one :-P

will merge

 

[julesrules815]

I'm graduating in May and am currently doing a post-graduate job search. I'm a fashion merchandising major and have always been drawn to the trend research/forecasting side of the industry. This thread has been useful for my search, though I have a question. Does anyone know if there are entry-level positions at trend forecasting companies? As someone mentioned earlier, you usually need to have some years of experience in the industry before becoming a trend spotter. But are there other positions at these companies that provide a way for someone to work their way up to being a trend forecaster?

 

[mustard]

Masters Degree In Fashion Forecasting

Hi all!!! just thought i'd put the feelers out to see if anyone knew where i could do a masters in fashion/trend forecasting.

is anybody enrolled on a similar course already? maybe it's a fashion marketing course that has a module in trend forecasting?

i've done my BA in fashion design specialising in knitwear and was accepted to go to RCA and continue with an MA in knitwear design but decided it wasn't the path i wanted to take.

any advice, suggestions or just general chit chat would be great!!

 

[RoRa]

There's a programme for MA called Trend Forecasting at Polimoda, Italy. The teaching language is English.

Note that most of the trend forecasters working today have never study it. But since times progress I think it will be an advantage.

 

[KaitlynAliano]

Fashion forecasting is something I've always been interested in. I never considered it as a career, but plan to do more research thanks to this thread. Will report back!

 

[DollyMix]

Have you considered the other side of fashion forecasting, i.e. business forecasting? To work as an analyst you will need a quantitative degree. If you are good with numbers, this route is ideal.

But are there other positions at these companies that provide a way for someone to work their way up to being a trend forecaster?

Yup. Start as a researcher / analyst in a good business research company (e.g. Datamonitor), then move onto fashion after 5 years.