Fashion Forecasting with the Help of Technology

By Emerson Latham

Technology has helped turn the novice into experts when forecasting the future direction the fashion industry will turn in upcoming seasons. Thanks to social media, live streams and much more, people are able to predict the latest styles with a click of a button.

Marissa Steenhoek, a senior studying communication studies, opened her online boutique, “Beloved”, in September of 2020. The motto for her store is, “Classic and timeless styles.” Her goal for her customers is to steer away from trends and focus more on garments that they can keep in their closet forever.

Steenhoek said she uses a lot of different platforms for forecasting what upcoming styles she is going to introduce to her online inventory. She uses Pinterest, small business Instagram pages and large corporation’s websites.

Even though Steenhoek has her own style and vision for her brand, she still checks up on fashion shows to see how she can incorporate what she observes into “Beloved”.

“I think [luxury designer’s fashion shows] set the tone for the season,” said Steenhoek. “When silk and satin came back into style, that’s what I took from those fashion shows but I didn’t take exactly the pieces they were wearing.”

Elli Peller and Natalie Rock, sophomores in apparel, merchandising and design, are the directors for TREND Magazine’s fashion forecasting committee.

“What fashion forecasting [committee] does is pulling from what we think is going to be in the upcoming season and trying to predict the future trends,” said Rock.

Peller said they have really been focusing on fashion shows, influencers and keeping up with what new products brands are putting out on the market. However, those are not the only places they get inspiration for their forecasts. The two said they have been incredibly influenced by students on campus, within their major and members of TREND magazine.

“I think technology and social media has definitely sped up how fast trends come and go,” said Peller.

Rock, Peller and additional fashion forecasting co-director, Olivia Makeever, junior in apparel, merchandising and design, have a collaborative group chat with their committee members. They often send screenshots from Instagram or Pinterest in the group chat as inspiration for their photoshoot. Outside influence is everywhere and that is something they have made sure their committee is aware of.

COVID-19 has really changed the game when it comes to forecasting. A lot of fashion shows have either been canceled or put completely online. This gives people from all around the world the opportunity to have access. A person can tune in wherever they want or catch up later if they were not free during the time of the show.

Forecasting is especially important for buyers and people in the industry now because the economy is still down.

“Really tuning into looking at those future trends and researching that to get your buying plans are going to be super crucial for the upkeep of your business,” said Rock.

Rock and Peller are predicting that coming out of the pandemic, people are going to want to express themselves more than they ever have fashion-wise.