Fashion has always been an industry of constant evolution, driven by creativity, culture, and now more than ever, technological advancement. With the emergence of AI, the industry is once again standing at the cusp of a transformation. One of the most significant shifts catalyzed by AI is in the realm of trend forecasting. Understanding these changes is vital, whether you’re a designer, marketer, or brand executive.
Pre-AI Trend Forecasting
Before the digital age, trend forecasting was an art as much as it was a science. Forecasters relied on a mixture of:
- Runway Shows: High-end fashion weeks in Paris, Milan, London, and New York served as critical sources of inspiration. The colours, textures, fabrics and styles presented by designers influenced the industry for the seasons that followed.
- Street Fashion: Trend spotters would scour the streets of fashion capitals, documenting what people were wearing.
- Cultural Indicators: Music, movies, magazines and other pop culture sources often influenced fashion trends.
- Market Research: Surveying and consumer feedback were essential for brands to understand what resonated with their audiences.
Though these methods are insightful, they are time-consuming (and therefore costly), rely heavily on intuition, and are prone to biases and inaccuracies.
The AI Takeover
Comparatively speaking, AI represents a paradigm shift for trend forecasting.
- Real-time Data Collection: With AI, brands can gather real-time data from social media platforms, e-commerce sites, and other online sources. This immediate feedback allows for quicker adaptation, reducing the lead time traditionally required in fashion cycles.
- Deeper Consumer Insight: AI can analyze vast amounts of data, from online browsing behaviours to purchase histories, giving unparalleled insight into consumer preferences. This level of personalised analysis was previously impossible. Beyond just sales numbers, AI can decipher the story behind each purchase. By understanding website browsing patterns, search histories, and even cart abandonments, AI can craft a detailed narrative of the modern consumer at a granular level.
- Visual Recognition: Advanced visual recognition tools powered by AI can scan thousands of images from runways, street style, and online platforms, identifying patterns, colours, and styles that are gaining traction.
- Predictive Analytics: Instead of just identifying current trends, AI can forecast future ones. By analyzing data from thousands of sources and understanding historical trends, AI can make predictions about what consumers will want next.
Peering into the Future
What does this mean for the future of trend forecasting, and indeed fashion itself?
- Hyper-personalized Fashion: As AI gets better at understanding individual preferences, we might see brands further the move to customised fashion, with hyper-personalized recommendations and clothing items tailored to the individual.
- The Growth of Sustainable Fashion: With deeper insights into consumption patterns and consumer values, brands might be nudged towards more sustainable practices. Improved trend forecasting will lead to less over-production.
- The Democratization of Trend Forecasting: AI levels the playing field. Even smaller brands, without the resources to hire dedicated trend spotters or purchase expensive market research, can access sophisticated trend forecasting tools powered by AI.
There are of course caveats. One of the ironies of AI’s power is that its own evolution is challenging to forecast – by its very nature, it is enigmatic. We might understand its current capabilities, but it’s inevitable that its evolution will lead to unforeseen changes in how it impacts industry. As AI tools morph and grow, so will their application in fashion and retail in ways we might not yet envision.
And there is one thing that neither traditional trend forecasting nor AI can account for – we don’t want to be ‘forecasted’. The evolution of fashion is driven by a very human desire to be different, to stand out. Will any tool have the capacity to predict this with a high degree of accuracy? Perhaps this isn’t the forecaster’s role.
While AI offers tremendous potential for the fashion industry, especially in trend forecasting, it’s not without its challenges. The dynamic nature of AI means that it’s as unpredictable as the fashion trends it seeks to forecast. However, one thing is clear: those who embrace AI and its ever-evolving capabilities will be a step ahead of those that don’t.
