The fashion field is evolving fast. It offers multiple choices, one of them is fashion forecasting. DR Roopak Vasishtha tells you what it takes to enter this world

The glamour of the fashion industry is such that it attracts many youth to pursue a career in this field. If we talk about career options in the field of fashion, then most of the youth see their career as a fashion designer or fashion merchandiser. But with time, the fashion field has become highly competitive. Now, there are many career options for youth in the fashion industry, one of them is Fashion Forecasting. If you love to stay updated with the latest fashion trends and have a vision for style, then fashion forecasting is definitely a better career option for you!

Fashion Forecasting is the global prediction of upcoming trends in the fashion world. It is the process of analysing and making predictions of the future trends on the basis of past and present data. It basically predicts the mood, behavior and buying habits of the consumer on the basis of color, fabrics, textures, accessories, graphics, and foot wear.

You simply can’t guess what’s going to be popular. Nothing is fixed here. This field requires a lot of knowledge and a large amount of research work. All the equations of fashion change overnight. The cut and color change according to the season, but now it seems that the style and material etc. also change before coming into the trend, so the challenges of this work are also unique.

Difference between Fashion Forecasting and Fashion Designing: Fashion forecaster is the sequel of fashion designing. In fashion designing, the designer is responsible for turning an idea into a design. He creates specific look of garments that include its shape, colour, fabric, trimmings, and other essential aspects. The role of fashion forecaster is to identify which silhouettes colours, textures, fabrics, graphics, prints, footwear and accessories will be the upcoming trends on the runway.

It’s not enough just to be creative to make a career in the field of fashion forecasting. But it is also very important to be aware of the technology used in this field. For example, in the case of designing apparel, you should have knowledge of fabric weaving techniques, fabric mixing techniques, dyeing techniques, stitching techniques etc. Similarly, knowledge of various technologies is also vital for footware designing, accessory designing and jewellery designing.

The fashion industry has been focusing solely on profitability and quality for the last thirty years. The fashion companies are promoting their brand by hiring young designers and organising fashion shows to add a modern touch. In such a situation, the youth will have a lot of work opportunities in the emerging field of Fashion Forecasting.

The writer is CEO & DG, AMH SSC