Dissertation proposal!

I intend to research trends within fashion culture and the role in which trend forecasters plays within fashion. Going back in the history of fashion, Fashion was used to differentiate the classes and the power in which a person holds with “changes most commonly marked on fabrications and trims rather than overt style changes” (Lynch,A. Strauss,M,D. pg2. 2007) In the earlier days the court would often set “the trend” for the way people dressed. In 1920’s Edward Bernays (nephew of Sigmund Freud) used his uncles psychoanalytic principles to adapt to consumer bahaviours. The idea of desire was replaced by need. Berneys changed the way consumers bought products “appealing to desires, and unrecognised longings, consumption became viewed as a palliative, with the expression of making people feel better about themselves.” (Lynch.A, Strauss,M,D. Pg20, 2007) For women the desire at the time was to have equal power to men therefore after World War 2 clothing was aimed at women for enhancing self image. “clothes were purveyed to women as an opportunity to reveal their inner selves” (Lynch.A, Strauss,M,D. Pg21, 2007)

The term street style refers back to all the iconic trends such as teddy boys, Beats, Rockers Mods etc. During the 1950’s “Mod” was used to describe anything fashionable or modern. This was a period of transition in the fashion culture as teenagers had the power of spending money. The attitudes towards fashion differed from pre-war times as people used to get garments repaired and altered rather than buying new ones. “Mass production, mass consumption and mass media characterizes the twentieth century” (Brucken.S, pg13, Ethical Clothing) The new fast fashion attitude didn’t properly take off until the late 1960’s when clothes were thought of as disposable. This change in attitude created a new market where companies did not depict what people wore anymore but companies now made what people want to wear. “fashion is by the people, for the people” (Prest,M,J.2009)

Fashion consumption moved away from conformance to mass culture” (Dichter,!985) Taking us to the current day when there is an alternative for people and they purchased for self expression, individuality and own way of thinking and acting. The freedom of choice created a new way of thinking for Trend Forecasters. Trends make people feel individual as their is a desire for newness. Fashion Trend Forecasters have to take many things into consideration when they are predicting the future of fashion. Their research is based on observation, intuition and interrogation of people in the streets, what is going on in catwalks, market and the economy. They split consumers in 6 groups which is mentioned in “The Trend Forecasters Handbook” These consist of the Innovators, Early adopters, Early majority, Late majority, Later majority and the laggards. The Innovators and Early adopters are the two main groups which Trend forecasters refer to when they think that a “trend is about to go viral or big” (Raymond,M. Pg19. The Trend Forecaster’s Handbook) These groups are important to trend forecasters because taking for example when their observing people on the street and they see a person(innovator) who is wearing skinny jeans when everyone else is wearing straight leg jeans, they have a feeling that skinny jeans will be the new and next trend. When a trend forecaster see’s what the trend is stirring, they will develop ideas onto a mood board consisting of “colours, materials, textures and social and environmental factors” (Sanderson,C.pg126. The Trend Forecasters Handbook). These forecasts are used by companies where many of them focus their efforts on the Late majority as they make up a high number of consumers compared to other groups. The late majority are the ones who are “keen to go for the “look”” and are easier to predict their taste.Designer Karl Lagerfeld remarks “Acceptance by a large number of people makes market important” Trend Forecasters look at the laggards as to when a trend is about to die out.

Street style was a way to determine class as the upper class people dressed differently to distinguish themselves from the lower class people of the streets. In the modern day, street style is a merge of all classes to the middle class. In the book street style Polyhemus refers to this merge as a “trickle down, bubble up” effect. This meant that high fashion was what the lower class wanted to be and the bubble up effect is what high fashion looked at for ideas on the catwalk. “without the Hipsters, Teddy Boys, Beats, Rockers, Rude boys, Mods, Surfers, Hippies, Punks, B-boys, Flygirls, Raggamuffins... most of us would be left without anything to wear” Trends in the recent years have been a reaccurance of all these trends but the high demand in fashion makes it harder for trendforecasters as they can only be one step ahead of the consumers. If their behind the consumers are bored and if their two steps ahead there not interested. Being one step ahead is where trend forecasters want to as recession in the current day has changed the consumers way of thinking, consumers don’t want to buy what is not “in fashion” yet or anymore. The next new trend socially is being eco-friendly and buying sustainably, “the figures and prognoses show a clear trend towards sustainability” (Giesen,B.2008.Ethical Clothing) People now don’t have to chose whether they should buy ethically as many companies now have a range of green clothing. Many consumers don’t buy these clothing to help farmers but mainly for their own comfort, the trend behind sustainability and being environmentally friendly is pushed towards these consumers so the more “social and individual benefits are paired, the more likely the consumer is to buy an environmentally friendly product”(Giesen,B 2008.Ethical Clothing) The future of fashion can go two ways, one being that fashion will be bigger and faster than ever or may slow down due to sustainability. There are mixed views on this subject as technology such as social networking and online shopping is a new way for quick and easy access to fashion.