The industry of trend forecasting has developed rapidly and companies within the fields of fashion, design, lifestyle, food and beauty are working with it. Why? The answer may lie in the fact that our world has become more complex and hard to understand with so many different influences and trends co-existing at the same time. One person who has become one of the best at reading and analysing all of these tendencies and determining whether they will turn out to be a trend worth noticing or not, is Lidewij Edelkoort. Her trend forecasting company Trend Union has agents based all over the globe and she helps some of the biggest companies to adapt to future needs and demands. Last week, she held a seminar in Copenhagen which we had the possibility to attend. After listening to several other forecasters, we didn’t know what to expect. But sitting in the nice cinema in central Copenhagen watching beautiful pictures, music and text creating an interesting multimedia experience, we had to admit – there is a reason why Li Edelkoort and her team are portrayed as the best of the best in their industry.
She guided the seminar by explaining and developing ideas first presented on the big screen. A while ago she declared that: ”fashion is dead” a statement that became the talk of the town (which also proves her great impact on the industry). Edelkoort followed up on that idea during her presentation by saying that it is the fashion system with all its stresses, pressures and money that will change. Raf Simons and Alber Elbaz were used as two recent examples of the unhealthy environment that is the fashion industry today. Instead she believes craft and couture will be the next two big things where the status of production will be redefined. Only time will tell if this is where we are headed.
