You may have heard the phrase ‘trend forecasting’ being used in financial discussions. Trend forecasting involves observing and collecting information about current conditions and spotting a trend or pattern in that information. These patterns and trends are then used to form the basis for future conditions.
But trends forecasting isn’t only reserved for the financial world; you can also use it to predict trends in business wear. But what are the benefits of doing this?
It can make you look Innovative
In being able to forecast possible fashion trends, you can put yourself far ahead in terms of the styles worn by staff. This can cause everyone, including your competition to sit up and take notice. You may even find that you are somewhat of a trendsetter.
It can save you Money
In outfitting staff with the future of fashion now, they can wear their clothing for twice as long, meaning you will only have to replace their work wear half as often. The money you save on this alone can be significant.
It can increase the Morale of Employees
It’s a proven fact: when we look good, we feel better. Outfitting your employees in fashionable business wear can help them to have confidence and cause them to look forward to going to work each day. And an employee who is excited about their job can pass those positive feelings onto everyone they deal with.
Spot Trends by Being Hyper-Alert
Just like Braille allows the visually impaired to read words by feeling the bumps on a page, so does ‘cultural brailing’ allow the full context of a culture to be communicated. By fully immersing ourselves in a culture and being on the alert for new things – in this case, clothing trends – we can find new patterns, styles and colour combinations that we may not have explored previously.
Network with Experts
Another way to forecast trends in workplace clothing is to deal with those who are well-versed in doing so. Textile companies are constantly at work to identify trends. Always, at least one year ahead, these companies release this information to the trades. Soon, the trends end up in fashion shows, and then communities in a few years. The key is in being in right place at the right time – when predicted trends are released to the trades.
WGSN’s trend forecasting service is used by thousands of companies around the world to help them choose their next staff uniforms. Companies can get a membership and then access all manner of data concerning clothing trends.
Don’t Get Overwhelmed
Regardless of the method you choose to forecast fashion trends for your team, all of that data can be overwhelming. And with so many attractive trends, choosing just a few can be daunting. Narrowing down your options will make choosing the elements you want to incorporate a much easier task.
Not all trends you identify will work as well when transferred to staff clothing. Once these are eliminated, you can use predicted trends to try and determine how long they may last. This can be much easier when you have access to trend data.
At the end of the day, what works best for your staff should be at the heart of any uniform decision you make. But thankfully, today’s uniforms have enough options available by way of colour, style and fabric that all of your employees can be comfortable. And the fact that access to trend forecasting data is available can certainly help you with choosing colours and styles for your staff. Of course, the easiest way to do that might just be to choose a business clothing brand that carries on-trend workwear for your employees.
