Are you skipping the most important part of the design process?
What is trend research and why do you need it?
Have you ever showed up seriously underdressed for an event? Or maybe you were overdressed? Both are awkward in different ways.
I’ll always remember a pre-first date phone call with my now husband when he asked me how casually or formally I would dress for our date. (My answer, if you’re wondering, was “Casual. Not too casual. Not Seattle casual. I won’t be wearing socks and sandals.”)
It was a smart question that made sure neither of us looked or felt awkward, and we looked like we were going to the same party.
The same principle applies to your clothing line. No matter where you sell your line, there will be other brands at the party. Either hanging on the next rack, in the store next door, or online with every other brand in your market.
That’s why trend research is so important for your brand.
Your brand has it’s own point of view and of course you don’t want to copy your competitors. But there’s a difference between standing out because of your amazing design and sticking out like the guy wearing a tracksuit to a formal wedding.
When you skip trend research you find yourself in sales recap meetings like this one I witnessed, where sales were down because our competitors’ stores were full of fun and colorful pants and shorts, but our stores were dark; heavy on the neutrals with no brights. Our customer wanted bright shorts, but he had to buy them somewhere else. We missed the trend, and we lost sales.
So what is trend research? Is that like a fashion mood board? It can be, but it’s more strategic than the pretty inspiration boards you might be thinking of.
Trend research is a deep dive into all the relevant products in your market.
It’s the first and most important step in the design process, but it’s a step many startup brands skip.
How do you do trend research?
You go inspiration shopping.
You look at:
Fabrics (content, weight, hand feel, etc.)
Trim details (types of snaps, ribbing, stitching, etc.)
Styling details (pocket types, sleeve types, length, general fit, etc.)
Colors
Print and pattern
Do some research on the Internet, but make sure you get out and look at physical product in stores. Nothing can replace seeing and touching the clothes in person. This also lets you look closely at the trim and styling details you can’t see online.
You’ll start to see trends, like bright colored pants and shorts, that most other brands in your market are carrying.
When you do this type of research regularly, you’ll start to notice patterns. Like the width on pant legs getting slowly smaller and then slowly wider again over time.
Even better, because fashion is cyclical, once you’re tuned in to the trends in your market, you can start to predict them yourself.
You can use this info and apply it to your customer. A young and fashionable customer will probably jump on a new pant leg width quickly, and you’ll want to make sure you have it for him. A customer who is slower to adopt new styles will want to move toward a big change like that more slowly over time.
Either way, being aware of these trends means you’ll always have what your customer wants, and he’s not going to have to buy it from one of your competitors instead.
Need help with your trend research?
Let’s discuss your goals and see if my services would be a good fit for your business
The 20 minute call is free and there is no obligation to work together. We’ll get to know each other and talk about your brand and goals.