:: Jet-Setters ::

This is an interesting look inside the job of a Product Trend Analyst at Cotton Inc.
 Cotton wanted to bring to light the work of this seemingly forgotten job and all the hard work that is put into it, so they created this piece.The story was brought to my attention via email and I wanted to share it with you guys!

Meet Cotton Incorporated's Product Trend Analysts, who travel the world in search of the latest trends to create innovative forecasts for a wide range of clients. The six month process to complete a trend forecast involves extensive travel, where the analysts take home samples of new, innovative fabrics, take pictures of trendsetting locals on the street, and immerse themselves in the culture around them. In New York, they research a wide range of subjects, from politics to the environment, all of which can have an effect on fashion trends. All that information goes into the forecasts, which are done anywhere from 18 to 24 months ahead of selling season, in a process that takes about 6 months to complete. The completed trends are then presented to clients around the world, who look to incorporate the forecasted colors, fabrics, or silhouettes into designs for their consumer.

This reminds me of the scene in "The Devil Wears Prada" where Miranda goes in on Andy about calling the clothes --Stuff.

"This... stuff"?

Oh. Okay. I see.

You think this has nothing to do with you.

You go to your closet and you select

I don't know- that lumpy blue sweater,

 for instance because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back.

But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue.

It's not turquoise. It's not lapis.

It's actually cerulean.

And you're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002,

Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns.

And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent wasn't it- who showed cerulean military jackets?

I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers.

And then it, uh, filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin.

However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact you're wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff.



::CheckingOut::