Top name brands and high end companies such as Vogue[2] and Gucci even use this method to help their designers become even more informed on what is to come in the fashion industry.
Then there is short-term forecasting which focuses on current events both domestically and internationally as well as pop culture in order to identify possible trends that can be communicated to customers through different color plates, fabric, etc.
[6] There are many specialized marketing consultants that focus on long-term forecasting and attend trade shows and other events that notify the industry on what is to come.
[6] Short-term forecasting focuses on current events both domestically and internationally as well as pop culture in order to identify possible trends that can be communicated to the customer through the seasonal color palette, fabric, and silhouette stories.
Long-term forecasts contribute to a fashion firm's development strategies and help it make decisions related to repositioning or extending product lines, initiating new business, and reviving brand images.
[7] Each retailer's trend forecasting varies and is mainly dependent upon whether the company is a wholesale brand or private label developer.
What does matter is who sees them—the in-house designers and buyers at fast fashion retailers, people who are paying close attention, identifying and predicting which styles, patterns and cuts will appeal to the average woman.
Each seasonal collection offered by a product developer is the result of trend research focused on the target market it has defined for itself.
The Internet, and consequently, social media, has accelerated the life cycle of trends and birthed phenomena like fast fashion and global supply chains.
Artificial intelligence has many applications in fashion forecasting that touch product assortment, customer behavior, design processes, marketing, and more.
Future sales may be lost if demand is overestimated; on the other hand, if suppliers are left with a surplus, significant discount strategies may be required, potentially resulting in losses and cash flow difficulties.
Numerous factors must be considered by a smart fashion forecaster, including the political and economic context, geographical demography, customer expectations, market trends, internal corporate plans, and many more.
Projecting previous patterns into the future and seeking indicators of change in order to anticipate impending events are the two basic objectives of "forecasting" in this context.
The primary building block of usual methods is typically a standard forecast, taken from a particular piece of software or the sales from the previous year.