To cope with the ever-changing technologies, the markets and consumer are rapidly evolving from

traditional, static, demographic-based criteria to more towards dynamic, modern, mood, lifestyle
and psycho graphic influences.

Fashion trend forecasting resources help predict trends in the fashion industry. Fashion & trend
forecasting is the prediction of mood, behavior and buying habits of the consumer at particular time
of season. It is no longer a question of finding your markets or consumers by age, geography or
income, but looking into how and what they buy, based on their culture, mood, beliefs, occasion &
geographic locations, it is also dependent on fashion cycle and plays a major role in introductory
phase of recurring fashion cycles.

Fashion trend forecast calculates as following:

Season > Target Market > Consumer >Colors > Fabrics > Silhouette > Texture > Usage

Understanding fashion trends forecast is one of the most arduous and calculative work for all, I know
most of top business houses around the world totally rely on designers for understanding the same,
but on the other side there are others who dont believe in it at all. In current times when we look at
technology we know nothing is by chance and there are people who are working behind the scenes,
day and night to make things appear easy and affordable to us. Question which often comes to our
mind is which trend forecast to use and how we can understand it better. Many technological
forecasting methods have been reported in various forecast related books & mentioned in literature
of many countries, and they have been successfully applied widely. As trend forecasting results are
mainly influenced by the forecasting method used by the end user, it is of utmost importance to
determine the method that will be most appropriate to a business model you adopt. Lets identify
the main factors affecting Fashion trend forecasting:

Seasons:

Each season, the design and merchandising departments worldwide are waiting whats in trend for
coming seasons. They rely heavily on creating a new line using these valuable data collected by
professional agencies. Trend forecasts are based on seasons Spring, Summer, Fall &Winter like we
connect certain colors with holiday and seasons, they expect to see earthy tones in fall season,
jeweled colors for holidays, the pastels of flowers in early spring, and refreshing white for the
summer. All the manufacturers include some of these standard colors in there line or collection
planning. Work on new line normally begins six months before the selling season( A flowery dress to
be worn in may should be in design section starting December). The manufacturers must produce
four or five seasonal lines a year. Targeting delivery ahead a month is providing consumers with
continual fresh merchandise each season.

Market Intelligence:

In recent years, world growth has slowed and markets have matured or become more protective. It
is evident that the only way for many small & big companies to grow is at the expense of their
competitors. Many large companies in Asia are turning to market intelligence for input into their
strategic management system and decision making. Conventional marketing research is increasingly
viewed as being too narrowly focused on tactical and operational issues. The large retail & export
companies around world are now looking up to role of the Internet in market intelligence for inputs
into their strategic management system and decision making. It helps them determine their product
acceptance in market; if acceptance is there market is there as world renowned designer Karl
Lagerfeld remarked, Theres no fashion if nobody buys it. Acceptance by large no of people makes
market important.

The marketing intelligence cycle whether its apparel or other business houses typically consists of
directing, collecting, compiling, cataloguing, analyzing and form filled up data by consumers
therefore making it easier for industry to create product which is market based.

Consumer Research:

The agencies & Manufacturers may ask consumers directly about their buying preferences or can
look in to their buying habits over a period of time. Consumer reactions are recorded and
documented to find preferences for certain garments or accessories, sizes or colors and so on ,or
products to fit specific consumer tastes. Surveys, by phones, mail or customer feedback forms are
conducted by publication and market research companies for manufacturers and retailers. These
surveys include questions about life-style, fashion preference, income, and shopping habits.
Customers are usually selected by the research firm to meet with manufacturers or retailers.
Informal interview with consumer can help researchers obtain information by simply asking
customers, what they would like to buy, what styles they prefer that are currently available and
what changes in merchandise they want, but cannot find. Owners of small stores can often do this
most effectively, because of their close contact with their customers.

The industry overall has one purpose, i.e. to provide a desirable and appealing product to satisfy
customer needs, demands or aspire to have. When successful, this chain results in a sale, because
this chain is the integral part of entire process. Every forecast begins with the consumer, by
observing the consumer's needs to the marketplace and in the unexpected ways the consumer
adjusts the market place to his lifestyle and preferences. Consumer research figures are critical & of
utmost importance in decisions about product development, marketing and retailing.