How does trend forecasting work? The Future Laboratory’s Chris Sanderson pulls back the curtain in the latest episode of the Wardrobe Crisis podcast.
Christopher Sanderson, co-founder of The Future Laboratory, sat down with Clare from the Wardrobe Crisis podcast, to discuss what's around the fashion corner - and how our trend forecasters go about figuring that out. Enjoy a sneak peek of some of Chris' answers:
How do you feel about trends?
In sustainable fashion circles, that word can have negative connotations. After all, it's the sped-up trend cycle delivers us fast fashion. Flipping between different, and often conflicting, fashion trends, it's easy to lose control, buy and waste too much. But there's way more to trend forecasting than predicting that next week you'll be wearing yellow. Or Barbiecore. Or whatever momentary madness TikTok is serving.
But aren't trends obsolete?
No way. Now more than ever businesses are trying to stay ahead of how culture, lifestyles and appetites and tech are changing. Also, trends aren’t just pink vs. blue; the trend forecaster’s job is to map out bigger shifts that look likely to shape our tastes and behaviour going forward. Mapping cultural, lifestyle, economic and societal trends helps us form a picture of where we are headed and shape our strategies for everything from new business models and products to reaching our chosen audiences.
