SUE BARRETT, 39, a denim specialist fromSoutheast London, works for international fashionconsultancy and news service WGSN. She hashelped shape our jeans for years, working withthe likes of Dolce & Gabbana, Mavi, Wrangler,Lee Cooper, H&M, Giorgio Armani and Diesel.When I started working as a trend forecaster tenyears ago, everyone was wearing cargo pants andno one seemed to be buying jeans, at least not likethey did in the 70s and 80s or like we do now. I washired by both Lee and Wrangler to research themarket and help get people back into denim. I’mnot sure what makes a good trend forecaster, but Ithink you have to be open-minded and observant.

I was looking for new ideas, so I spent my timetravelling around Sweden, Italy and France, scopingout what styles were popular in each country. Allacross Europe the speed at which people adoptnew trends varies. In Turkey, for example, they thinkskinny-fit jeans for men will never catch on. In Italypeople iron their jeans, but in London those samejeans will be worn baggy and slightly creased – thejeans are the same but the look is totally different.

Today, I split my time between the office inLondon and tracking down new looks in fashion-forward denim cities such as Tokyo,Stockholm and Reykjavík. Sweden is like Europe’sTokyo in terms of street culture; and young peopleadopt new denim trends early – they’re so brave!High-waisted flared jeans that are now a big hithere were popular there over a year ago.

Another good place to spot trends is music

festivals. Music and denim always go hand-in-hand– look at all the hot front men who sport skinnyjeans on and off stage. There’s also a real carnivalatmosphere and people tend to be bolder in thestyles they wear. They’re also more relaxed abouthaving their picture taken. BEST SPOT The skinny jeans phenomenon.WGSN had been talking about it since 2001. Wealso foresaw last year’s return to the early 1990s ravelook (acid-coloured skinny jeans, oversized whiteT-shirts, Day-Glo) as early as 2004, when club nightsstarted rehashing 90s music and style.

Trends are on an ever-progressing timeline,often without a clear start and finish point. Theglobalisation of trends, due to blogs and theinternet, means they tend to go full circle morequickly now than they would have done before.THE NEXT BIG TREND For jeans my hot pick is the high-waisted, tapered faded denim look –very 1990s. Katie Holmes and Rachel Bilson have been spotted wearing versions in the‘boyfriend’ cut, but soon this will progress into what we call ‘Mom’ jeans – fitted, tapered and high-waisted, like the ones Madonna wore inDesperately Seeking Susan. Rounder, morewomanly forms are emerging. The Mom jeans are reminiscent of our parents’ and grandparents’wardrobes. Key styling points include a high waist, volume around the thighs, tapering down to the ankle, super-pale to pastel washes and the return of stonewash.wgsn.com

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38 YOU 11 JANUARY 2009

‘The new style of jeans has volume aroundthe thighs and tapers down to the ankle’

trendsetters

It’s no accident that we all started wearing skinny jeans at the same time or that everyhigh-street store is clamouring to produce an ethical line. Behind each consumer must-buy there is someone who saw it coming first. Lucie Greene meets threeprofessional trend forecasters – and discovers what’s in store for our wardrobes

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KATE SCHELTER, 32, is based inNew York. A self-styled fashionchameleon, Kate works as a trendforecaster for designer Zac Posen,Vogue, Disney and Swarovski, among others, as well as working as a photographer for major fashion magazines.I grew up on America’s East Coast andas a design student spent summersinterning at W magazine and at theChristian Lacroix headquarters in Paris.After graduating, I hit the streets of Los Angeles as a junior trend forecasterfor Look-Look, a youth marketingagency, snapping Polaroids of kids inclubs – a cuff, a fold of a dress, close-upsof the prints they were wearing. Then Iwas taken on as a trend predictor forVictoria’s Secret lingerie.

I later relocated to New York, where Imanaged to get a meeting at AmericanVogue, which loved my portfolio. Theysaid: ‘You have great photos. Just keepin the head and the feet this time. Wewant you to shoot the front row atfashion shows.’ I began working forthem, snapping the celebrities, modelsand socialites at New York and Parisfashion weeks, shooting everyone fromhip assistants to on-the-up designers intheir ensembles. It was a fairy-taleexperience; I was able to see from thefront line how the streets and thecatwalks are inspired by each other. Ithink trend forecasting is intuitive; I alsohave an eye for detail, which is important.BEST SPOT The androgynous tailoredlook for women that dominated theautumn collections – and is still a bigtrend for spring 2009. I started seeing iton a lot of very stylish girls in New York,and then Julianne Moore wore an Yves Saint Laurent white tuxedo jacketand minidress to the MetropolitanMuseum of Art’s Costume Institute ballin May 2007 and I knew I’d spotted acomeback. Designer Alexander Wangalso had great tuxedo jackets andblazers in his show in September 2007,so that really put it on my radar.THE NEXT BIG TREND Elegantminimalism – think early 1990s JilSander. The use of vintage jewelleryand textiles to make new pieces is alsobecoming a trend. Designer-wise checkout Alexander Wang and Miami-basedjewellery label House of Lavande.kateschelter.com

‘The use of vintagejewellery and textilesto make new pieces is becoming a trend’ !

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‘By 2020, 53 per cent of millionaires will

be women’

MARTIN RAYMOND, 47, from East London, is co-founder of the FutureLaboratory, a trend prediction agency that has become a go-to forbrands such as Louis Vuitton, Miss Selfridge, Gap and Tesco. I started out as a journalist and editor, writing about fashion and film and presenting Ireland’s version of The Clothes Show. When I moved to London in 1984 I continued to write and taught journalism at theLondon College of Fashion. Early in my career I saw how social, fashionand spending trends are all interconnected. You can look at younggenerations — their environment, concerns, what they have been raisedwith in terms of economic conditions, politics, technology and sexualattitudes — and guess how that will impact later on as trends.

We are totally objective at the Future Laboratory, and as a result someclients don’t like what we say. When we told Gap, for example, that ethicalresponsibility would become a major issue for consumers, it was unpopular,as change in this area involves investing money. In 2001 we also told LVMH,which owns Louis Vuitton, that sustainable luxury would be a big issue.

BEST SPOT Millennials (teens born in the early 1990s who adore GossipGirl and Miley Cyrus). Four years ago we predicted the millennial mind-set— this generation, born into the age of the internet, are technology savvy,ambitious and big spenders. We foresaw how powerful they would become.We also predicted the economic downturn; we told a banking client in 2005and they didn’t believe us, but we knew from talking to major players in theluxury sector, fashion and the building industry that it was going that way.THE NEXT BIG TREND Womenomics. By 2020, 53 per cent of millionaireswill be women, which will have a huge impact on luxury services. We can seeit happening now with the growth of premium home delivery services forfashion and food. Concierge culture will expand into every sector — peoplewill even expect a more personalised service from Primark. I also thinkthat despite today’s eco-times, there will be a move away from organicto synthetic fabrics. People will realise that eco-friendly cotton is alsoenvironmentally damaging to produce and embrace high-tech materials.thefuturelaboratory.com

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41YOU 11 JANUARY 2009