“I think there is beauty in everything. What ‘normal’ people would perceive as ugly, I can usually see something of beauty in it.” –Alexander McQueen
Few industries are as future-oriented as fashion. Most industries look to product lines in the three to five-year range. Fashion lines literally change with the season. The hunt for the next big thing is not some nebulous forecast of the future. It’s the modus operandi of the entire fashion world. Traditionally, next year’s clothing lines are a best guess based on cultural trends and broad-reaching lifestyle. For example, there has been a concerted effort in the industry to fuse technology with fashion. From wearable technology to smart materials that can change color or texture, fashion always strives to be a cutting-edge synthesis of differing industries.
Julia Fowler took the interdisciplinary approach when she formed EDITED, a fashion trend forecasting company. Fowler decided to take an analytical approach to the creatively intuitive industry. Speaking to the New York Times, Fowler said:
“Industries like the financial sector have used big data for many years. The logical step for us was to apply a scientific approach to the apparel industry.”
Partnering with a financial model programmer, EDITED created a software platform that analyzes over 300,000 comments on social media daily. EDITED’s platform gauges consumer moods based on comments on social media remarks from pricing to style preferences. This data is used to project how the fashion landscape will look in the future.
EDITED embodies the future, and that’s not because Fowler created a technological answer to predict fashion trends. The future is about merging different approaches and industries together to create synergy. A future orientation is about opening your mind to dissimilar possibilities and seeing opportunities that no one else visualizes. Are you prepared for that type of mind-set? If you’re not, someone else is.
Business with Style: Accelerators
- What does the ideal future look like for your business,project, or workplace?
- What steps or key actions must you take to bring that ideal future to fruition?
- What things must you correct or stop doing if your vision is to become reality?
READ MORE: The Top Performer’s Field Guide: Speed of Change
Jeff Standridge
Dr. Jeff D. Standridge is the best-selling author of “The Innovator’s Field Guide” and “The Top Performer’s Field Guide.” He serves as Managing Director for the Conductor and Innovation Junkie, and teaches in the College of Business at the University of Central Arkansas. Jeff helps organizations and their leaders generate sustained results in the areas of innovation, strategy, profit growth, organizational effectiveness and leadership. Learn more at InnovationJunkie.com.
