If there’s one constant in fashion, it’s change. Styles are always evolving, especially in the current climate of fast fashion and social media. That’s what makes fashion trend forecasting so valuable — you won’t blink and miss the next big thing in wearables.
Some fashion trends are obvious, like the resurgence of flared jeans and bodysuits. And then there are some that are totally unexpected, like the fashion trends of grandpa core vs. mob wife.
Fashion brands can benefit from social listening tools that will identify fashion trends that are going viral or about to break the internet. An essential tool in trendspotting for PR, Meltwater collects data from around the web to help you get inside the minds of your audience.
Here’s how you can use Meltwater social listening capabilities for your fashion forecast and make it rain sales.
Contents:
Fashion Trend Forecasting Definition
Benefits of Forecasting in Fashion
Implementing Fashion Trend Forecasting
How Can Meltwater Help You Predict Fashion Trends?
Fashion Trend Forecasting Definition
What is trend forecasting in fashion, you ask? We define it as using data to detect what the next “it” fashions will be.
That data includes predicting trends in colors, fabrics, styles, genres (e.g., boho chic, 1980s), patterns, and silhouettes. Fashion forecasting helps designers create styles people are ready to buy and wear, which helps to minimize waste and keep consumers looking fresh.
TIP: See Meltwater's Consumer Intelligence solution in action in our blog featuring insights from New York Fashion Week 2024!
Benefits of Forecasting in Fashion
Fashion forecasting and trend analysis is the closest thing to a crystal ball for fashion brands. When you can peek into the future, you can expect the following benefits.
Fashion brands can stay ahead of competitors
Predicting fashion trends helps brands become proactive rather than reactive. It takes significant time and effort to create new designs, source and cut fabric, create new pieces, and ship them to stores for sale. One bad season of sales can be enough to put a fashion business at serious financial risk.
Fashion trend forecasting helps brands get an edge on the colors, patterns, and fabrics consumers want to buy. This helps them create collections that will resonate with customers before trends go mainstream.
Improve fashion brand identity
Trend forecasting can help fashion companies maintain a consistent brand identity. They become a brand people turn to because they get current trends right.
Aligning trends with the brand’s core aesthetics lets companies keep their sales floor fresh while still aligning with their unique identities.
Reduce waste
Fashion waste is a serious and growing issue. Fashion companies produce a collective 100 billion garments each year, and 92 million tons end up in landfills.
Brands can reduce waste by knowing which styles are most likely to sell before they’re created. They can sell more while encouraging buyers to hold onto their clothing for longer.
Boost sales by aligning with customer interests
Offering the right trends and styles leads to higher demand and increased sales. Customers care about what’s “in” and will give more attention to brands that “get” their style.
Beyond style, brands must also take values and interests into consideration. Customers want to buy from brands and businesses that reflect their own values and interests. It’s not just a matter of having the latest styles, but also being able to infuse these elements into your brand and marketing messaging.
TIP: Get more info on what customers are interested in with our 2024 Retail Industry Report!
Inspire new ideas
Fashion trend forecasting isn’t just about following the pack. When they understand what’s on the horizon, fashion brands can innovate within these trends or even inspire new ones.
It’s no secret that most fashion trends come full circle. When what’s old is new again, there’s always a twist. For example, the hair claw clips that turned trendy women into Rachel Green look-alikes are making a comeback, this time in unique shapes, textures, and colors.
Repurposing fashions for the modern era can help brands cater to new audiences as well as those who long for the clothing and accessories they wore in years gone by.
Implementing Fashion Trend Forecasting
Fashion trend forecasting works similarly to other forms of trend forecasting. You simply need to access the right data, then mine it for insights.
There are different ways to go about it, so let’s look at some options.
Check WSGN fashion data
WSGN Fashion is a subscription-based service for fashion brands to see the latest trends. They conduct global research on your behalf on topics like fabrics, designs, and more, then contextualize it for easy-to-understand insights.
The company also offers consultancy services to help you design impactful collections. Using this data, you can discover new marketing trends relevant to the fashion world and enjoy all of the benefits of fashion forecasting.
Keep an eye on social media
Fashion bloggers and content creators are keen on sharing the latest styles with their audiences. You can tap into their posts to learn what they’re wearing and how they’re styling those fashions, as well as find ways to innovate them.
You can also see what hashtags they’re using to get a feel for what’s in style. Use hashtag analytics to see how popular a hashtag is. Tools like the Meltwater platform can give you quick insights and even find related hashtags.
This is largely a reactive approach, so it’s not ideal for getting ahead of the curve initially. However, it can help you get an idea of how receptive people are to the latest fashions. This can be useful for predicting how long a particular style or trend might last, which allows you to adjust your strategy.
Use Meltwater for fashion trend forecasting
Meltwater’s social listening platform gives you fashion consumer insights at your fingertips. Meltwater analyzes billions of data points in real time to give you the latest insights into the fashion industry.
We take those insights and turn them into easy-to-digest data points. Rather than looking solely at sales, Meltwater taps into the conversations people are having across the web. It looks for keywords on social media, websites, blogs, podcasts, fashion influencer content, and other media to see what people are talking about and how they’re talking about those topics.
This is as close to getting inside your customers’ minds as possible. Set up the mentions and keywords you care about, then let Meltwater give you a daily digest of conversations and other data. You can be everywhere on the web at once while learning more about what your target audience wants.
TIP: Our social listening guide goes into more detail about the benefits and use cases for social listening.
How Can Meltwater Help You Predict Fashion Trends?
When you need fashion trend forecasting for 2024 and beyond, Meltwater gives you comprehensive insights you can use. Users can set up mentions and get a live data feed of how people are talking about specific topics, from yoga pants to trucker hats.
For fashion brands, these insights are invaluable not just to their designs but also to their marketing. You can create the fashions that people like and want to wear while also learning how to put them in front of an audience that’s ready to buy.
Meltwater has access to the biggest social media data sources, including up-and-coming Asian social platforms and media outlets. With the power of AI, our platform collects the data you need and turns it into easy-to-read insights so you can take action.
Learn more when you request a demo by filling out the form below!
