Trend Forecasting, Part 2 – EDITD’s approach
Posted: October 20, 2011 Filed under: trends, London Fashion Week, behind the scenes, New York Fashion Week, spring/summer, Paris Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week | Tags: fashion, trend forecasting, trends, EDITD, Geoff Watts 3 Comments »
Spring/Summer 12 colour palette according to EDITD's analysis of the show season
A few weeks ago I made an attempt at explaining how trend forecasting works. At the time I focused on the more traditional way of doing things, not discussing the new kid on the block. This was mainly done because the first post wasn’t exactly light on information but also because I wanted to wait and see how I find the newbie. Old Street-based trend forecasting service EDITD crawls the web to gather details from retailers and to monitor the mood on social networking sites. Then they take this data to make their reports and to forecast trends for brands, retailers and suppliers so they can base their business decisions on facts rather than educated guesses.
Last week I received their first analysis of fashion month, EDITD’s Spring/Summer 2012 Fashion Week Wrap. ’25 million tweets and updates covering fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris over a month were analysed to give a unique, definitive overview of Spring/Summer 2012,’ the company’s co-founder Geoff Watts explains in his email. Following the link what I found was a detailed yet concise summary of the shows we just saw. The report describes how brands have benefited from a well thought-out social and digital strategy, visualises the season’s main colour palette as well as one for each of the four fashion cities, informs us that Givenchy and Louis Vuitton were well liked and that Yves Klein Blue was the predominant hue across the board. It also shows florals are the most talked about print of the season, lists sportswear and under-the-sea as the two most influential themes, and charts people’s reaction (love, hate, neutral) to the most important topics (eg. retro, feminine, Chanel).
I also liked their selection of 16 key looks and how EDITD explains why each of these looks will be important come spring. Lists of the 10 top designers, styles and prints conclude the coverage.
Although rather short I feel that the report covers everything most people will need to take away from the shows at this point. Of course buyers in particular will need more specific information (that EDITD provides) but what it does is filter out the main trends. I liked the way the data is presented and think it helped me sharpen my focus in some areas. The graph visualising peoples reactions to specific topics is particularly interesting. Of course there was no way around noticing all the retro shapes on the runway but I was surprised that EDITD’s data found 80% of these reactions to be negative. The colour analysis of the similarities and differences between New York, London, Milan and Paris also provides insight into what we’ll want to wear next season.
Generally I feel that data analysis on this level is a great addition but not quite a replacement for traditional trend forecasting. But I don’t think that that is EDITD’s aim. It does seem to bring some much-needed structure and logic into a field that tends to rely on instincts. On the other hand human interpretation and indeed instinct is something that is hard to express in numbers so my ideal solution is to have the best of both worlds.
To read the whole report, go to EDITD’s website.
Milan Fashion Week Recap (SS12)
Posted: October 5, 2011 Filed under: Milan Fashion Week, spring/summer | Tags: 20s, 50s, 60s, Antonio Marras, Dolce & Gabbana, fashion, Fendi, Gucci, Jil Sander, Karl Lagerfeld, Milan, Milan Fashion Week, Prada, Raf Simons, SS12 1 Comment »Like many other people I believe that each of the four major fashion weeks has their own personality. New York is very commercially minded and a retailer’s dream. London prides itself on its raw creativity. And Milan? Milan is for the advertisers in my opinion. Of course all other brands throw a lot of money at magazines, too, but nobody does it like Armani & Co. Which means all senior editors are in attendance to snag their slice of the pie.
Generally, Milan seemed happy to play with 50s and 60s silhouettes like London and New York the weeks before. Which is pretty much where the similarities end. But the Italians clearly also had the 20s on their collective mind. A lot of collections featured drop-waist dresses with Gucci showing beautifully beaded flapper dresses. This time around I tried to give you a tighter edit with only a few stand-out collections. Gucci was great, just not my thing. Prada was excellent as always. But the cartoon prints, flames and above all the mules proved to be too much of a deal breaker. Antonio Marras was beautiful but by look 79 (!!!) I had lost my will to cover it.
FENDI
Fendi: looks 2, 20, 26 and 36 on style.com
Karl Lagerfeld focused on day wear for Fendi. I thought that the collections lightness felt almost Parisian. I really, really love the box pleating detail, particularly on the skirt in look 26 (see image above). Fendi was one of the few shows that didn’t hop onto the 20s bandwagon but stuck to a classic red, blue, white palette. The label also showed colourful fur. Personally, I am against the use fur but you couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship that went into those pieces.
JIL SANDER
Jil Sander: looks 3, 9, 22 and 37 on style.com
Where Raf Simons goes, the rest will follow! Jil Sander is one of the most directional shows and if you want to pick up little hints as to where we’re headed, it’s a good idea to check out what’s on this runway. In the name of minimalism of course there were lots of whites and clean lines. One half of the show had a clear 60s slant. Some looks were decidedly Jackie O, a reference I usually hate for its ubiquitous-ness but it was simply beautiful in this case. The feel was very refined and elegant with a modern take on the 50s (look 37 in the images above) in the other half of the show. Neon accents seem to be here to stay for at least another season if you go by Jil Sander. The collection also featured the label’s oversized paisley prints and I noticed some VERY deep v-necks which reminded me of the many NY shows that had them. The last look on style.com, number 49, was made for Tilda Swinton, right?
DOLCE & GABBANA
Dolce & Gabbana: looks 4, 8, 17 and 46 on style.com
Dolce & Gabbana showed a real feel-good collection. Reminiscent of Sicily in the 50s, there were lots of vegetable prints and, of course, 50s silhouttes. What makes this collection modern is the use of transparency. Celebrities will love look 46 (image above, far right) but I think it’s hard to pull off due to its 3D-effect. They, as well as consumers I imagine, will also love the vegetable print (personally, I’m a huge fan of what I believe to be zucchini flowers because I love to eat them) and they will be much easier to wear. Unless you pick a hot pant and boob tube version. Ahem.
Only one to go! I hope to get to Paris tomorrow. Coverage-wise. Although I’d much prefer to actually *get* there. What did you like in Milan?
