Final Project

The five stores we visited in the Natick Mall were Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, Uniqlo, Zara, and PacSun. We agreed with the forecaster’s predictions for each of these stores because they are so well-known, popular, and do well with sales every year. The item we decided to focus on for this assignment were bottoms. Jeans, pants, shorts, skirts, etc.

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Forecasting Project

Critiquing the Pros

The first store I went into was Neiman Marcus. I noticed a lot of spring colors in stock. Blues and greens were dominate. Variations of aqua blue and navy blue reigned supreme while light green and neon green saw some love. Neon colors were big on their own, colors such as green, pink and orange. There was a lot of soft cotton and nylon. Floral prints and all over print patterns were pretty big as well. There was a lot of lightweight jackets, long sleeve t-shirts and basketball shorts. I was there around 3:30 on a monday and the store was pretty empty. The people that were in the store were young around late teens early twenties. There was a decent amount of employees around and they seemed to cover a specific area. They were playing pretty upbeat music that was putting me into a good mood and if I had more money with me, I would have purchased a product. The mood also reflected the product well as everything was uplifting and helping my mood. The trends they had their seemed pretty on point. The color scheme and the materials used were good. They also had most the shoes that were in trend and a good selection of brands that are big right now. They seemed to cater to a working class citizen as well as they had a decent selection of suits.

I also went to Barneys New York. I was in their at around 4PM on a monday. They seemed to be a little more up to trend compared to Neiman who seemed to be behind a bit. They had similar products but Barneys had more trends that are current now rather than behind a season or two like at Neimans. The colors here seemed to be a little more on trend. Colors like coral, hot pink, yellows, light greens and blues and lots of gray. There was a wide variety of textiles used from heavy cottons, silks, linen and denims. Also camo was big and not just traditional woodland camo, camos featuring bright colors such as yellow and orange were dominate. Bright colors such as hot pink were featured on everything from light jackets, flannels, shorts, hoodies and shoes. Cargo pants also seemed like a hit. Many different brands had a twist on the classic look, some featuring colors like olive and gray while others were black with a fleece material. Patchworking and graphic prints were also big. Weather it be inspired by artwork like Off Whites impressionism prints or one of the many all over prints done by gucci the days of the subtle flex are over. Vetements also had an oversized rain jacket that had the logo monogrammed over the whole jacket. Vetements also had some patchworked hoodies. These seemed like any old black hoodie with some prints sewed on to it. They were on the back and front with lettering and bright prints. Patchworked denim jeans and straight leg denim also seemed to be making a comeback. There was not a whole lot of skinny denim or ripped denim. The target market is definitely a younger demographic who keeps up with street trends. They was not a huge selection for an older audience. Most of the people working were also younger in their late twenties early thirties. Most of the employees did not seem to have a specfic area they seemed to be roming around fixing what needed it and helping out customers who needed it. The same was true for the customers in the store. In both stores it seemed like most of the people their were just there to look not actually purchase products. I felt Barneys was really up to trend and had a few things I though may be becoming a trend for spring/summer. The mood is Barneys was uplifting, they had on current music that was putting me in a good mood and the employees who worked their were nice and seemed like they actually wanted to help me and the other customers that were in their. I enjoyed both stores, but if I ever were to get some extra money, I would be spending it at Barneys New York.

Women’s Off White/Heron Preston at Barneys New York

Calvin Klein 205w39nyc *at Barneys New York*

Designer Evolution : Junya Watanabe

Junya Watanabe is a Japanese fashion designer who attended Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo. In 1984 he graduated and moved onto an internship at Comme des Garçons. By 1987 he was already designing for the Homme line at Comme des Garçons. Finally in 1993 he earned his own line titled ‘Junya Watanabe Comme Des Garçons’ and began showing his collections at paris fashion week. Watanabe was mentored by fashion great and head of Comme des Garçons Rei Kawakubo. They are both known for their creativity and distinctive looks. He is often considered a “techno couture” designer, someone who creates unusually structured clothing out of modern, technical materials.

Below is a piece from his Fall/Winter 16 collection. It is a solar powered jacket that is able to charge your phone. This jacket retailed for around $2,000.

Workwear has also always been a staple for Junya. For his Fall/Winter 2012 show the theme was the industrial revolution. On the top is a workwear ad for Lee’s in the 1940s. The bottom pictures is looks from his 2012 runway show. He used dark colors and wanted the general aesthetic to be dirty and unpolished. This was Junya’s idea of “re-worked workwear”.

In 2002 Watanabe had his debut mens show where he unveiled his levis collaboration. When talking about the jeans he said “I wanted to put in the collection something that was the real thing”. More than just the emotional aspects of the poem he is talking about the pants.

Junya’s Spring/Summer 2015 collection was inspired by Japanese peasant clothing. This collection had lots of denims and indigos, as well as boro patchwork on almost all of the garments. Boro is a Japanese textiles that has been mined or patched together. A very common textile used in the lower classes for warmth.

In Watanabe’s Fall/Winter 2019 show was not much different from his previous. You saw the staples from him such as tweed, denim, biker leather, parkas, ’50s knits, corduroy, workwear, regular shirts. The difference in this show was it was geared toward an older generation. This is confirmed by Watanabe himself when he said “older men possess stronger personalities and are cooler than the younger generations.” Instead of doing what every high fashion brand is doing right now and gearing toward the youth, Watanabe is going with what he finds interesting as he himself ages. This collection featured lots of denim,coats,blazers and workwear get up. Something you would most likely find in all of his menswear collections. His idea of workwear is not new, he just finds a way to improve it each collection. Below are pictures from his Fall/Winter 2019 show.

The Fall/Winter 2013 show was another one that was dominated with denim, blazers and coats. This time he worked with a darker pallet using lots of blacks, greys and navys. Also instead of the patchwork being on the jeans, it was all done the blazers, parkas and jackets. Junya’s idea of “re-worked workwear” was still on show for this collection.

For his Fall/Winter 2017 collection he showed his collaborative side. This season provide pieces from Levi’s, Carhartt, Vans, Barbour, Kangol, and Gloverall. This collection like in the past had lots of blazers, denim, parkas and jackets. What made this collection stand out was his use of color. He had his traditional blacks, navys, grays and browns but also had lots of bright colors. He had bright red jackets and pants, blue pants and pops of orange in a lot of pieces.

I do not think much has changed Junya design approach over the years. Most of his collections feature his idea of “re-worked workwear”. What is happening around him does not seem to affect him much. He works with and creates garments he think are unique and pretty rather then what the public thinks. Junya does not go after trends, he would rather create than follow. Workwear will continue to evolve with Junya in the front.

Trend Analysis

“Dad” shoes have been one of the biggest trends in recent years. Dad shoes are chunky shoes, with thick soles. This trend reached the mainstream when on September 21 Balenciaga released the triple S. A shoe that retailed for just about $800 and also sold-out the same day. The hype for bigger, chunkier shoes was real and many top brands hopped on the train. Brands such as Gucci, Acne Studios, Maison Margiela, and Vetements to name a few. But these “Dad” like shoes have been done in high fashion for about six years now. Raf Simons a prolific menswear designer who has been the creative director for brands such as Jil Sander and Christian Dior, released his Ozweego 1 on June 30, 2013 through his own label in collaboration with adidas. Kanye West and A$AP Rocky both rappers and trend setters in their own way have been wearing these since that time. These shoes did not really kick off until he released the second variation of the Ozweego, which featured a sleeker design and more color ways. Over time these shoes gained more traction and more and more celebrities started to wear them, especially rappers. The shoes retailed for above $400 but would rarely sell for this price and would usually drop to under $250 in sale season. This lead to many people having access for this shoe. So as time went on more and more people wanted this shoes and in late 2016/early 2017 these shoes started to sell out for full retail and not even reaching sale prices. Balenciaga saw how sought after these type of shoes were and take the idea and took it to the next level.

Bell Bottoms was one of the hottest items in the 1970s. They are a pant usually denim, that become wider from the knee down and form a bell-shape. This trend is said to have started in London in February 1964, but the use of the pant dates much further. It is said that sailors in the war of 1812 wore bell bottom trousers. The trend did not hit America till the late 1970s due to Sonny and Cher wearing them on their TV show. Bell Bottoms lived a short live as in the 1980s trousers such as parachute pants and leggings started to gain more traction. In the 1990s bell bottoms were reinvented to boot cut jeans and flare legs. Both were much tighter at the bottom but still offered a lot of room, flare legs are loose throughout while boot cuts fit tighter from the knee up. Bell Bottoms were made for men and women. This was advantage in the 70s as disco was big. People could wear these and be able to move pretty well while still looking stylish. Hippies were another main group of people who wore bell bottoms. You would see these pants in many different patterns, from blue denim to cotton prints with vidid colors to a wax finish. Many brands still release their own version of bell bottoms but it is a rarity to actual see someone wearing bell bottoms in todays age.

Skinny jeans was king for about the past decade. They are still very popular but looser fitting jeans and trousers have started to take over the past few seasons. These slim fitting pants spread to mens fashion in about 2008. Skinny jeans are said to have originated within France under Louis XIII rule. They were worn mostly by the high class citizens. They came back in 1805 as tight trousers not jeans anymore. These were worn by working classes citizens and these pants were perfect for them. They ceased being popular in the 19th century and made another comeback in the 1950s. Skinny jeans have been reintroduced many times, they had minor stances in the 70s and 90s but did not gain major traction until the late 2000s. Skinny jeans are not just made for women as well. Brands such as Saint Laurent and Christian Dior made skinny jeans very popular within mens fashion. Kanye West was another person who popularized skinny jeans again. He had a collection in collaboration with APC which sold out instantly, a rarity for the time it happened. Many celebrities and musicians have worn skinny jeans and they seem to still be the most popular within the music community. Skinny jeans always seem to have a time of being really popular and then going out of style in a few years and then popping back up.

Fashion Forecasting

WGSN, a fashion forecasting website that has articles posted daily. These articles range from future trends to catwalk analysis than to information about new technology in the works. Other articles inclued product insight, Industries and even some on buying. WGSN can cater to a wide group in the fashion world. They also have a very large archive of old articles and catwalk shows dating back to about 2014. Image result for wgsn catwalk The title of the article associated was “The Womenswear Catwalk Key Trends You’re Gonna Love”

Promostyl is another fashion forecasting website. But this site gets its information out through things like books and youtube videos and sometimes newsletters. They also have sections on their website for the consulting and events they do. Somethings may come out fast and you get updates every two weeks while others may not come out for three months while some may only come out every six months. Watching some of their videos as well will get you some useful information for free. The two different forecasts this site focuses on is short term and long term.

Image result for promostyl One of the many books they release each season.

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Pantone is a fashion forecasting service that tends to be more about trending colors for the season more than anything. They have physical guides as well that contain related color swatches, which would have varying tints of the same color on one page and so on. They have a wide variety of products that includes formula guides on coated and uncoated swatches, Metallic shimmers guide and even an i1Photo Pro 2 that offers the most accurate and consistent color calibration that can go from view to print with no differences. Those are just a few of the many physical items Pantone offers. That is not all the services they offer, they also do color consulting. As well they have “Pantone Color Institute”, which makes decisions on colors for brands or products.

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