Consumer's needs[edit]

In fashion trends and forecasting, consumer is king. What does a consumer really
want? Understanding the consumer is a vital part of the fashion world, without
them products cannot be sold. First, it is important to note the difference betw
een a consumer's needs and a consumer's wants. A need of a consumer is a desire
to obtain a product or service, that is either for an emotional or functional re
ason. A want differs from a consumer s need by the consumer s desire to have a produ
ct or service that is not necessary, the consumer just wishes they had it.[42] T
he success of a fashion company and the prediction of future trends is dependent
on addressing its consumers needs.
Consumers all have different needs and demands that have to be suited. A person
s needs change frequently, which is why fashion trends even exist. An important
factor to take into consideration when thinking of consumers needs is the key dem
ographics of the customer. Gender, age, income, and even profession can help a c
ompany better understand the needs of their customers.[43]
For example, a woman who is pregnant could be looking for diapers, baby stroller
s, and maternity clothes. Her needs would differ greatly from a woman with child
ren that just went off to college or a teen entering high school.
Often consumers need to be told what they want. Fashion companies have
ir research to ensure they know its customers needs before developing
Steve Jobs said, "Youve got to start with the customer experience and
rds to the technology. You cannot start with the technology and try to
t where you are going to sell it".[44]

to do the
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The best way to understand the consumers needs and therefore predict fashion tren
ds is through market research. There are two research methods: primary and secon
dary.[45] Secondary methods are taking other information that has already been c
ollected, for example using a book or an article for research. Primary research
is collecting data through surveys, interviews, observation, and/or focus groups
.
Benefits of primary research is specific information about a fashion brand s con
sumer is explored. Surveys are helpful tools; questions can be open-ended or clo
sed-ended. A negative factor surveys and interviews present is that the answers
can be biased, due to wording in the survey or on face-to-face interactions. Foc
us groups, about 8 to 12 people, can be beneficial because several points can be
addressed in depth. However, there are drawbacks to this tactic, too. With such
a small sample size, it is hard to know if the greater public would react the s
ame way as the focus group.[45] Observation can really help a company gain insig
ht on what a consumer truly wants. There is less of a bias because consumers are
just performing their daily tasks, not necessarily realizing they are being obs
erved. For example, observing the public by taking street style photos of people
, the consumer did not get dressed in the morning knowing that would have their
photo taken necessarily. They just wear what they would normally wear. Through o
bservation patterns can be seen, helping trend forecasters know what their targe
t market needs and wants.
Knowing the needs of the consumers will increase a fashion companies sales and pr
ofits. Through research and studying the consumers lives the needs of the custome
r can be obtained and help fashion brands know what trends the consumers are rea
dy for.
Media[edit]
The media plays a significant role when it comes to fashion. For instance, an im
portant part of fashion is fashion journalism. Editorial critique, guidelines, a
nd commentary can be found on television and in magazines, newspapers, fashion w
ebsites,[46] Social network, and fashion blogs. In recent years, fashion bloggin

g and YouTube videos have become a major outlet for spreading trends and fashion
tips, creating an online culture of sharing one s style on a website or Instagr
am account. Through these media outlets readers and viewers all over the world c
an learn about fashion, making it very accessible.[47]
At the beginning of the 20th century, fashion magazines began to include photogr
aphs of various fashion designs and became even more influential than in the pas
t. In cities throughout the world these magazines were greatly sought after and
had a profound effect on public taste in clothing. Talented illustrators drew ex
quisite fashion plates for the publications which covered the most recent develo
pments in fashion and beauty. Perhaps the most famous of these magazines was La
Gazette du Bon Ton, which was founded in 1912 by Lucien Vogel and regularly publ
ished until 1925 (with the exception of the war years).[citation needed]
Vogue, founded in the United States in 1892, has been the longest-lasting and mo
st successful of the hundreds of fashion magazines that have come and gone. Incr
easing affluence after World War II and, most importantly, the advent of cheap c
olor printing in the 1960s, led to a huge boost in its sales and heavy coverage
of fashion in mainstream women s magazines, followed by men s magazines in the 1
990s. One such example of Vogue s popularity is the younger version, Teen Vogue,
which covers clothing and trends that are targeted more toward the "fashionista
on a budget". Haute couture designers followed the trend by starting ready-to-w
ear and perfume lines which are heavily advertised in the magazines and now dwar
f their original couture businesses. A recent development within fashion print m
edia is the rise of text-based and critical magazines which aim to prove that fa
shion is not superficial, by creating a dialogue between fashion academia and th
e industry. Examples of this trend are: Fashion Theory (1997) and Vestoj (2009).
Television coverage began in the 1950s with small fashion features. In the 1960
s and 1970s, fashion segments on various entertainment shows became more frequen
t, and by the 1980s, dedicated fashion shows such as Fashion Television started
to appear. FashionTV was the pioneer in this undertaking and has since grown to
become the leader in both Fashion Television and new media channels.
However, over the past several years, fashion websites have developed that merge
traditional editorial writing with user-generated content. Online magazines lik
e iFashion Network and Runway Magazine, led by Nole Marin from America s Next To
p Model, have begun to dominate the market with digital copies for computers, iP
hones, and iPads. Example platforms include Apple and Android for such applicati
ons.
A few days after the 2010 Fall Fashion Week in New York City came to a close, Th
e New Islander s Fashion Editor, Genevieve Tax, criticized the fashion industry
for running on a seasonal schedule of its own, largely at the expense of real-wo
rld consumers. "Because designers release their fall collections in the spring a
nd their spring collections in the fall, fashion magazines such as Vogue always
and only look forward to the upcoming season, promoting parkas come September wh
ile issuing reviews on shorts in January", she writes. "Savvy shoppers, conseque
ntly, have been conditioned to be extremely, perhaps impractically, farsighted w
ith their buying."[48]
The fashion industry has been the subject of numerous films and television shows
, including the reality show Project Runway and the drama series Ugly Betty. Spe
cific fashion brands have been featured in film, not only as product placement o
pportunities, but as bespoke items that have subsequently led to trends in fashi
on.[49]
Videos in general have been very useful in promoting the fashion industry. This
is evident not only from television shows directly spotlighting the fashion indu
stry, but also movies, events and music videos which showcase fashion statements
as well as promote specific brands through product placements.