The Fashion Forecasters: A Hidden History of Color and Trend Prediction

ISBN-13: 9781350017177 / Angielski / Miękka / 2018 / 296 str.

Regina Lee Blaszczyk; Ben Wubs

Opis

This book sheds light on the hidden history of one of the driving forces in the business of fashion - trend forecasting. Exploring the inner workings of color and trend prediction for fashion over the past two centuries, from Europe to America to Asia, it offers the first historical treatment of the rise and growth of the industry within the global fashion system.The enigmatic information system of forecasting is often shrouded in mystery, yet it has been gathering and analyzing intelligence about colors, fabrics, silhouettes, and styles since the 18th century. Exploring where the practice of trend prediction came from, how the industry evolved on a global and international scale, and how it reached its position of power in today's digital age of fast fashion, The Fashion Forecasters examines the entrepreneurs, trade associations, service companies, and consultants that have worked behind the scenes to connect fashion creators and retailers to emerging trends. Shifting the analysis of trends to business history, and bringing together new research in the archives of trend studios, color forecasters, and international trade fairs, plus interviews with leading contemporary forecasters, this book blends history, biography, and ethnography into a highly readable cultural narrative that will draw important ties between the birth and rise of the industry and its globally dominant position today.