Mikaila Brown is a fashion anthropologist with a doctorate in Anthropology and Education from Columbia University. After working for designers like Oscar de la Renta, Pamela Roland, and Betsey Johnson, she ran a socially conscious fashion line for four years. This has evolved into The Common Thread Project (TCTP), a travel and fashion brand which highlights the cultural diversities within the fashion industry by investigating the style trends of local communities. TCTP uses anthropological tools to unpack the historical, cultural, and political roots behind the trends that locals wear, specifically looking at the ways in which these communities use style choices to communicate who they are and what they value. Dr. Brown shares this knowledge with the public by offering cultural shopping tours through Airbnb’s new experiential arm. Her company also works with fashion brands to help them provide design options that are as culturally sensitive as they are consumable.
Course Overview
What does it mean for something to be "on trend"? In fashion, trends guide everything from design to consumer behavior, evolving and changing over years and even decades. Trend forecasting is how industry experts predict what new trends will become popular with consumers and how existing trends will evolve over time. A knowledge of trend forecasting is necessary for staying relevant in fashion, whether you are working for an established fashion house or starting your own line. This course will guide you through the trend forecasting process so you can create a relevant trend forecast, be it for your own fashion brand, a large industry brand, or a trend forecasting service.
You will research current fashion trends using primary and secondary sources to determine what trends will be prominent with consumers. This research will be used to choose a trend for your trend forecast report. You will then gather the data from your research and, using the GRAB method, interpret your findings around a target market of your choice. Once your data is collected and synthesized, you will use your findings to complete your trend forecast report.
Key Course Takeaways
- Research trends using primary and secondary resources to gather trend forecast data
- Analyze trend research data to develop a forecast for a specific target market
- Create and write a trend forecast report for your professional portfolio
How It Works
Course Length
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Course Authors
Tasha Lewis, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design at Cornell University, where she teaches fashion design management. Her research encompasses the consumer-driven aspects of the fashion industry as it contends with advances in technology, shortened product life cycles, and demands for more social responsibility and transparency. Dr. Lewis’s primary research explores how to assess the value that environmentally sustainable fashion products and supporting manufacturing processes bring to today’s fashion supply chain. Most recently, she has been focused on the post-consumer stage of the textile and clothing recycling process.
Who Should Enroll
- Entrepreneurs
- Designers seeking a business background
- Anyone hoping to build or grow a career in the fashion industry