What is so important about the use of trend forecasting, and why should industry players invest in it?
FJ: We create our information with the fashion industry in mind which has made it popular with a broad range of industries; our trend services sell to car manufacturers, financial institutions, mobile phone brands and pharmaceutical companies as well as a broad range of fashion brands and retailers. Today every product is a fashion product and therefore influence by fashion trends. Marketing agencies, industrial designers and technology companies are all big users of trends and often use information which is very long range. The longevity of the information required is usually linked to the lifespan of the product. Most people do not change their car every 6 months so mid range trends are needed for this which tends to be socio-economic and influenced by longer range technology trends. Inspirations that represent a decade are important touch points, such as architecture. Architecture built today will be defined as ‘teens’, reflecting the period 2010-2020, and industrial design will fol
