Color Forecasting for Fashion

CHAPTER 4

UNDERSTANDING COLOR CYCLES

FADS, TRENDS, AND CYCLES

Color forecasting is defined as the process of predicting the probable color and trend directions 18 to 24 months ahead of the selling season, but it is important to acknowledge that these trends exist within the context of color cycles; color trends and palettes do not exist in a vacuum. These cycles of colors, styles, or trends in fashion seem to have a sense of rhythm; they wax and wane, are forgotten about, and are eventually rediscovered and reinvented.

While fads are quick flashes of popularity that may bubble up from the street or through social networking or viral marketing, trends are less ephemeral, resulting from myriad cultural, social, political, and economic influences ...