fashion forecasting

Fashion forecasting is the prediction of mood, behavior and buying habits of the consumer. Fashion is a style that is popular in the present or a set of trends that have been accepted by a wide audience. But fashion itself is far from simple. Fashion is a complex phenomenon from psychological, sociological, cultural or commercial point of view. Fashion trends are the styling ideas that major collections have in common. They indicate the direction in which the fashion is moving. Fashion forecasters look for styles they think are prophetic, ideas that capture the mood of the times and signal a new fashion trend. 


Some trend watchers visualize the dynamics of fashion as a pyramid of status level. In some theories, fashion trickles down from a highly visible elite. In others, fashion trickles up from street once it is discovered by the fashion elite and introduced to mainstream audiences in an edited version.


Article from fibre2fashion.com


“Fashion used to come from one source at a time, be it the street, the runways or the entertainment business. The interesting thing about today is that influences come from high and low-everything from couture to Target.” 
–Michael Kors


Tailoring Trends in Menswear 2012
Relaxed Tailoring


Below are some key trends within tailoring for menswear that I am interested in including into my collection.


Seamless Shoulders
The seamless shoulder lacks a stitch line at the point where the shoulder rolls to become the arm. Burberry have been one fashion house to make use of the seamless shoulder in their men’s collections, featuring relaxed tailoring several times. Most dominantly they did so in the form of an exaggerated blanket-check caban. With its single breasted and oversized cut paired with its winter tonality, the coat from Burberry easily lends itself to the style of 1960s fashion which is said to return in coming fashion seasons.

Burberry

Raf Simons

Deep Shoulder Seam

While the seamless shoulder is one of the hallmarks of the relaxed men’s tailoring trend, the deep shoulder seam / dropped shoulder works equally as well. Sitting somewhere between the sack shoulder and a seamless shoulder, the deep shoulder seam features a stitch line that sits off of the shoulder, with the overall appearance given that the jacket or coat’s shoulder is oversized.

Loose Pants

These are relaxed, oversized and generally loose interpretations of men’s trousers which are tailored. They are loosely tailored through the thighs and crotch.

Pleated Pants

This coming season there will continue to be experimentation with the fit of men’s pants, including with pleats. Both forward pleats (when the pleat opens towards the centre of the pants) and reverse pleats (when the pleats open towards the pockets) will be featured. Vivienne Westwood experimented with both fits in her Autumn/Winter 2011 collection, pairing pleats with a casually tailored waist line as a counterbalance.

Vivienne Westwood

Loose Cut Jackets 

Loose cut jackets are a statement garment. At the more conservative end of the spectrum and certainly inspired by men’s 1960s fashion, Raf Simon's single breasted jacket appears to fit a few sizes too big. While volume through the torso and seamless shoulders feature, the shoulders are tailored in such a way that the jacket still appears to fit thus making the statement clearer.

Raf Simons

Source: fashionising.com