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The History and Future of Fashion Prediction: University meets Industry

Mariette Hoitink at History and Future of Fashion Prediction (photo Dennis Wisse)

Fashion prediction has played a tremendous role in the transformation of the fashion industry worldwide since the interwar period. However, fashion prediction is little understood by the public, despite the fact that it dramatically influences the collections every season. Although intermediaries and mediators have been active in the consolidating process of the fashion industry, their role has only been discussed recently by business history scholars.

This one-day public conference in Rotterdam on 17 October 2014 explored the different forms and evolution of fashion prediction worldwide since the interwar period. Fashion prediction was and is exercised in different ways and by means of different institutions, including consulting companies, dedicated spaces during trade-fairs, department stores, dedicated divisions in major companies and, more recently, bloggers and internet trendsetting companies. The role and form of fashion predictions thus changed over time. This conference aimed to find out how and why.

Audience at History and Future of Fashion Prediction Oct 2014 (photo: Dennis Wisse)During the conference American and European scholars and museums professionals as well as representatives of fashion prediction companies from Paris and Milan, gave presentations on a wide range of themes. Professionals from the Amsterdam fashion world commented on the fashion scene in the Netherlands and the role played by efficient fashion prediction. The Dutch experience was compared internationally and confronted with existing theories on the fashion ecosystem.

The History and Future of Fashion Prediction: University meets Industry brought together the scholarly world of fashion research and professionals of the international fashion industry, and opened the floor for debate.

The conference was organised by Erasmus University Rotterdam on behalf of The Enterprise of Culture: International Structures and Connections in the Fashion Industry (financially supported by the HERA Joint Research Programme). It took place on Friday 17 October 2014 from 9.00am to 6.00pm, in the  Forum Zaal – M-Building, Erasmus University Rotterdam.

You can read more about the event in the conference report.

A full album of photos from the day can be found here.

Video interviews of the speakers can be viewed here.

Photography: Dennis Wisse