The genesis of runway trends is somewhat of an urban myth.
Last month, as I reported and ranted on the Spring/Summer 2025 collections on Instagram, I spotted a breakout trend in the way designers combined tactical outerwear with going out styles. Anoraks and sequins at Burberry, windbreakers and sparkles at Prada, and clubby tops and cargo pants at The Attico.
The more I posted, the more DMs I received asking the same question: “How does this even happen? Do designers talk to each other to show similar things, or do fashion editors whisper in their ears and tell them what to do?” read a particularly tantalising one.
Because there is no straightforward process like one would like to imagine, trends can indeed feel like a conspiracy: a sort of backend deal or a culmination of ‘the right people’ whispering in each others’ ears. But are they? How, pray-tell, are trends born? In an effort to find out, here we identified and spoke to the key players: designers, stylists, forecasters and buyers.
Business beginnings
Before a collection comes to life, there’s the zeitgeist: culture, music, film, politics. Designers pick up on these clues and, like all of us, ruminate on them and what they mean for our future. There’s also business agendas: what sells, what doesn’t, what could. And while much of fashion is about feeling, that artistic side goes hand-in-hand with the business end. There’s merchandising, business analytics, customer profiles; data that allows designers, editors and buyers to understand what customers are prioritising based on demographics.
Something we all tend to agree on: three’s a trend. “We always say that trends emerge in threes,” explains Yumi Shin, chief merchandising officer of Bergdorf Goodman. “When we see an idea at least three times, we know it will make it into our trend forecast, whether it’s a major or micro-trend, either on or off the runway.”
But before trends are reported on or bought into, they’re predicted by trend forecasters like WGSN, Peclers Paris, McKinsey & Company, and more. “We use a quantitative and qualitative process at WGSN. We leverage AI data modelling but we also include our creative forecasting team of product experts to contextualise the data and to ensure we’re looking in the right places,” explains Francesca Muston, VP of fashion at trend forecaster WGSN. The key word is “contextualising”. Muston details how WGSN’s forecasting methodology looks at society, technology, the environment, politics, industry and creative culture. Looking at fashion from all of these angles allows for a proper examination of what is actually trending past repetition or coincidence. This kind of forecasting helps brands market and design products in advance.
But like fashion, not all trends are created equally, and they all don’t hold the same weight or have the same longevity. “Trends move at different paces, some may spike suddenly and come right back down, linked to a viral moment,” says Muston, “others are slow and steady, lasting for years, such as the athleisure movement.”
A stylist’s world
Think of quiet luxury, Y2K, or the return to boho chic. Camel coats, baby tees and silky blouses have been in the market for years, but it’s savvy stylists and designers with a singular point of view who gave them a fresh spin and delivered them to the market in a way that has gained momentum.
“How a collection is styled on the runway can be hugely influential,” says Shin. “The stylists, in partnership with the designer, are also responsible for trends.” Think of this season’s technical glamour moment; more of a styling trick than a design element baked into the clothes. These styling trends are easy for the customer to participate in because they don’t require a luxury purchase. They can be replicated at home, so they gain momentum relatively quickly.
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Marni, Autumn/Winter 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Marni
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Willy Chavarria, Autumn/Winter 2024. Photo: Umberto Fratini / Gorunway.com
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Michael Kors Collection, Autumn/Winter 2024. Photo: Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com
“I think what we are touching upon here is that the fashion industry exists in this sort of vacuum where we’re all watching very similar things,” says stylist Carlos Nazario, who styles runway collections by Michael Kors and Francesco Risso for Marni, in addition to celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Rosalía — plus, a couple of Vogue covers, recalling how last season everyone was watching Ryan Murphy’s Feud: Capote Vs The Swans. “Every single one of my clients from Willy [Chavarria] to Francesco [Risso] and Michael [Kors] were all talking about it and this idea of presenting yourself in a more elegant way, thinking about what that woman or her man would wear today,” he says. I spoke to Chavarria myself ahead of his AW24 show and he did mention his fascination with the Swans — and the three designers did offer dressier collections than in past seasons.
It must be said that this isn’t necessarily new to fashion, or unique to the internet era. Nazario also recalls when Karl Lagerfeld decided to put ankle bracelet-like pouches around the ankles of models for his SS08 Chanel show. “It was because Lindsay [Lohan] and all the girls were wearing the monitors, so those photos were everywhere and Karl put it on the runway,” he says, also underscoring the influence of hip-hop culture on ’90s fashion, with designers from Lagerfeld to Tommy Hilfiger riffing on its aesthetic on the runway.
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