How the trends you’ll be wearing next season make it from runway to wardrobe… and the pieces to buy now that’ll still be hot next year
Trend forecasting agencies work two years ahead, coming up with the key looks for each season and providing shops will constant information
HAVE you ever wondered why a certain style of skirt seems to be EVERYWHERE one season, or how designers manage to offer up the same catwalk trends?
It's all down to trend forecasting, the vital part of the fashion industry fans probably haven't ever heard of.
The practice sees huge agencies working two years in advance, coming up with the key looks they are sure will be big news.
This information is passed on to high street shops, who use it - along with a decent dollop of catwalk inspiration - to come up with their new collections.
Many trend forecasters trained in fashion design too, so are using the same ideas and inspirations as those working at the high-end labels.
As simple as that, over-sized puffa coats or midi-length skirts make it on to the runway and the shops on your local high street.
Louise Stuart Trainor's background is in fashion design, but she quickly moved into trend forecasting.
Now freelance, she previously worked at renowned agencies including WGSN and Starsight, and she also lectures about the work on fashion courses.
She explained to Sun Online: "The reason fashion forecasting exists is because of the pace of fast fashion and also because consumers are extremely exposed to fashion in ways they weren’t in the past.
"They’re very aware of what’s going on with street style, what’s happening with trends, in other parts of the world and it’s very hard for brands to keep up with all of that and to be able to be ahead of a very fashion knowledgeable consumer.
"Rather than just doing research themselves, which all brands do, they are also bench-marking that against consultancy companies for who this is their expertise.
"They will look to trend forecasting agencies to give them some guidance, basically, make sure they’re hitting the right notes.
"High street brands want direction and they want to be sure to get a return on investment.
"It’s such a competitive world and pricing is being lowered all the time, so high street brands really need to have that extra bit of information to make sure they’re on the right page."
Of course working two years in advance means there won't be a lot of fashion references to go on.
So instead these agencies concentrate on big changes in the way consumers are acting. For example, if people become more interested in the countryside it might cause a surge in bike sales and farmer's markets, both of which will impact the kind of clothes wanted.
Social changes, politics, art and design, books, TV shows and influencers are all things which trend forecasters look to.
They'll come up with ideas of what is going to be big each season, and build fashion inspiration from that.
Louise explained: "[These companies] are looking at the entire fashion lifecycle.
"So they begin with colour but then they do materials, then they do prints and graphics, then they do silhouette – they do they whole range so that you get a lot of practical insights from fashion trend forecasting agencies that are looking at the whole package.
"The brand will take on the bits that suit their brand.
"An agency would give a lot of information out and then the brands interpret it in ways that makes sense for them and their consumer."
All of this explains why the high street is flooded with similar clothes, but where do the designer labels come in?
Well, they work in a very similar way to companies like WGSN.
Louise said: "The designers are very perceptive and they are looking at the same things as trend forecasting agencies.
"If there’s a really big retrospective happening at the Tate Modern, the designers will go and the trend forecasters will go.
"The Balenciaga exhibition is on at the V&A, so lots of designers will be going to that and viewing how the silhouettes are put together and maybe that will become an inspiration in terms of fit and silhouette.
"That might come down to something like the cut of a sleeve or some pleats – it can be something very small and that a lot of people think is insignificant, but it’ll be used on a shirt or skirt for next season.
"They’ll be really paying attention to the new things that are happening.
"Also fashion is to do with evolution. In the past it used to be a revolution, a designer had to come up with something completely new, whereas nowadays it seeps a little bit more slowly.
"So we go from having a puffa jacket that’s short to maybe a longer puffa jacket the next season to one that’s a much more voluminous the next season.
"It’s not complete change from one season to the next in the way it used to be 10 or 15 years ago.
"I think that’s a lot to do with the exposure, it’s hard to come up with new things when we can all see everything all the time."
Couple what high street chains are getting from the forecast agencies with what they see on the Fashion Week catwalks, and it's not hard to see how trends make their way from runway to rail.
There are also specialist colour agencies working on the shades that will be big news each season.
Top of the list is Pantone, which recently released its Fashion Colour Trend Report Spring 2018 edition for London.
It includes 16 shades which have already featured heavily on the catwalk, with a focus on variety and non gender-specific colours.
Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute, explained: "The Spring 2018 colour palette for London showcases an appreciation for the complexity and distinctiveness of colour as well as the appetite for expression through colour, which is something that evolves and can be played with.
"Consumers are looking for more colour variety.
"This expanded palette speaks to spontaneous colour usage and embraces the lack of gender and seasonal borders we are seeing embraced within the London fashion industry.”
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Forecasters also use data to come up with predictions, looking at what consumers buy and what they're searching for online.
Louise explained: "Trend forecasting agencies will have predicted quite far in advance, but then they keep updating that up until the actual retail period begins.
"So if something happens quite close to the time they’re actually able to make sure you keep an eye on it – eg. a new influencer has emerged.
"Also high street brands in general can react very quickly. They can bring product to market within a few weeks, so if there’s one thing that’s important – a slogan – they are able to change that around very quickly."
Anyone else thinking about those infamous Primark Love Island T-shirts?
One example Louise gave was the current trend for slogan T-shirts, which she sees as directly linked to the younger generation finding their voice following Brexit and President Trump's election.
Fashion Week seasons is in full swing at the moment, with Louise explaining the trends seem so far are in line with predictions she's seen.
She said: "New York Fashion Week has confirmed what people have been thinking. The season is going to be two-fold – on the one hand lots of comfort, lots of over-sized shapes and on the other hand really sporty, over-sized padded jackets, really bright colours – orange, bright yellow, green – all kind of mixed together.
"It’s an evolution so Autumn/Winter 18 I think there will still remain that comfort factor and looking at nature.
"I was really inspired the other night [watching a TV show] about scientists thinking about how we could live on another planet. And I think a lot of this space idea is coming back around. So I think for Autumn/Winter 18 we might see a bit more fantasy and exploration, intergalactic fashion.
"It’s always a reaction to what’s happening around us – when we see natural disasters, hurricanes, people need escapism."
These are the trends to come out of London Fashion Week so far, plus a look at the Topshop Spring/Summer 18 pieces you can already buy.