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Report

With the buying season well under way, Michael Fisher, men’s

editor of leading online trends and forecasting service

Stylesight, tells us how they stay one step ahead of the game

to predict the menswear future, and what influences are most

inherent in trends and consumer spending patterns.

Inside the

influence

Without a doubt, the biggest influence on emergingand established trends is the internet. It has becomea tool for both creators and followers of fashion. Itconnects the global community and puts trends ona level playing field for consumers. It’s the wayconsumers share ideas, discover new people, placesand things and, in Stylesight’s case, get a glimpseinto the future and all that it holds.

The internet is single-handedly responsiblefor menswear catching up with womenswear inregard to the saturation point of trends and theirlifecycle. Somewhere around 2004, with the adventof the term “metrosexual male”, a whole newgeneration of men felt they got permission to takecharge of their personal style and not be ashamed ofit. As blogs were born and magazines such as GQopened online portals, men were suddenly in awhole new world of possibilities. It used to be thatonly people who lived in major fashion capitals wereaware of emerging brands, runway collections andstreet trends, but with the internet and its widereach, a young man in a rural community can bejust as educated about style as his peer in New Yorkor London. Retailers have also found that men aremuch more excited about fashion than everbefore – going into stores with printouts from therunways, asking when they’ll be carrying a newcollaboration by a favourite designer, and just beingmore knowledgeable about what looks best on them.

I firmly believe most trends are driven by thecontemporary menswear market these days. Whilewhat comes down the runways will always spark theimagination of mass market collections, it’s thecontemporary market that is creating the buzz withconstant collaborations, novel design details andupdated fits and designs that won’t break the bank.Also, what happens on the streets has never mademore of an impact. With blogs like our ownstylesightings.com, The Sartorialist, Street Peeperand Jak & Jill, men around the world can instantlysee what trendsetters are wearing and how they styleit. One image on a street blog can influence so much.

For menswear, celebrities are increasinglybecoming an influence on everyday style. Withmagazines, blogs and online tabloids showcasing

“celebs” in their natural dress, the influence of theirpersonal style has organically become an importantindicator for trends. It used to be that only youngmusicians were the catalyst of trends, but now wehave an entire generation of ‘real’ men such asRyan Gosling, George Clooney, Ryan Reynolds andBrad Pitt who favour sharp suits, worn leatherjackets and vintage-style shoes. When it comes downto it, you’ll rarely find a guy who admits to beinginfluenced by celebrities, but they certainly areconscious of the fact their styling looks cool.

Though most men won’t easily admit tobeing influenced by celebrities, we know it happens.Brad Pitt continually seems to be an inspiration for

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Michael Fisher

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Trends 14

men who just want to be men. They love his ruggedmotorcycle jackets, his sharp suits and men arealways interested in his hair styles and facial hair.Lately, we’ve seen a lot more men noticingAnderson Cooper’s impeccable style, too. I think heshows that suits need not look stuffy or formal.Finally, a lot of young men are looking towardsJustin Bieber for style cues, even though 99 per cent of them will never admit it. All the proofyou need, though, is to walk down a street of anyinternational city. The hair, slim jeans tucked intocolourful sneakers and his habit of mixing blackwith bold colours are all wildly successful for theyounger demographic as of late.

Stylesight has an enormous team of expertsall over the world. We all work on the various pointsof the trend cycle. Our London office works reallyfar ahead, developing trend forecasts 12-18 monthsin advance. Once the runway collections happen,our team of editors in New York, London and Los Angeles analyse the impact of emerging trendsand figure out how they’ll develop over the nextyear. We attend the major trade shows, look at what’shappening on the streets all over the world and, ofcourse, the retail environment. Finally, we have alarge, seasoned team of correspondents who are oureyes and ears in cities such as Sao Paulo, New York,LA, Tokyo, Seoul, London, Paris and Milan. Theyshoot people on the streets, check out specialevents, attend music festivals, and anything else thathas a cool factor. Our correspondents help usconfirm previously forecasted trends, as well asgaining market intelligence for emerging trends.

The wonderful thing about working in trendforecasting and analysis is that no two days are everthe same. Every Monday, we look at a pre-determinedcalendar to figure out what normal deliverables willoccur for the week. These reports include weeklyand monthly retail analysis and “speed to market”reports where we show high street retailers how totake an emerging trend and take it to the next level.The editorial team also spends an immense amountof time exploring the various blogs out there – somuch inspiration comes from them. Once a day, I

go into our image library (currently made up ofmillions of images) and look at what our globalteam of correspondents has recently captured.Everything from candid shots from the streets toretail windows show up there. We use our internalbarometers to figure out what this visual stimulationmeans – how does it affect current and emergingtrends? Where are various trends in their life cycle?And, of course, what’s coming round the corner?Aside from that, we attend the runway shows, walkthe best trade shows around the world and conductviewing appointments in our favourite show roomsto see what emerging designers are up to.

For menswear, the most important tradeshow by far is Pitti Uomo. Our menswear teamfondly refers to the bi-annual trade show as our ownversion of Disney World, complete with colourfulcharacters, charming visual displays and buildingafter building of delicious fashion. At the end of theday, trade shows are just as influential (if not moreso) than what happens on the runways. Runwayfashion is a bit slower to trickle into mass retailers’assortments. Sometimes the trends are completelydifferent once they reach a majority of menswearconsumers. On the other hand, what we see at tradeshows is a bit more rooted in reality. Brands andbuyers are there to make money, so the assortmentsare often understandable and relatable. Besides theclothes, we get a lot of inspiration by seeing whatexhibitors and attendees are wearing, and we keep a

keen eye on the visual merchandising that goes intothe booths and shops to give us a thorough idea ofwhat’s coming through and how it’s best presentedand styled. •