The fashion industry runs on trends. They shape the collections showcased each season, influencing everything from magazine editorials to retail stores. But trend knowledge isn’t just for designers. A large part of how trends are used remains invisible or comes unnoticed by industry outsiders, yet it is largely present and plays a crucial role in many other fashion careers, including styling, trend forecasting, buying, marketing, and editorial work. If you aspire to one of these roles, runway trend knowledge can boost your fashion career opportunities.
Why Runway Trends Matter in the Fashion Industry
Fashion Weeks, in particular, are prime opportunities for spotting emerging trends. Runway trends are more than just looks—they influence key decisions in the industry and shape the nature of many professionals’ task, helping them perform their tasks effectively. That’s why so many professionals use them.
How Industry Professionals Use Trends
No matter your dream career in fashion, runway trend knowledge is key.
Fashion Designers: : How They Adapt Trends
Fashion designers look at trends emerging from fashion week as a source of inspiration, often tweaking or adapting them for their own collections. They may focus on colors, materials, or silhouettes gaining momentum. While some designers set trends, others follow them, adjusting to what resonates with consumers and the industry.
Stylists:Turning Runway Trends into Wearable Looks
Stylists analyze trends to curate fashion-forward looks for celebrities, magazines, and personal clients. They translate high-fashion concepts into wearable outfits, making trends appealing for red carpet events, photo shoots, campaigns, or everyday street style.
Trend Forecasters: Predicting Future Fashion
Trend forecasters analyze runway shows across multiple fashion capitals to predict upcoming trends. They consider not only the looks but also the cultural, political, and technological influences that might drive those trends. Their forecasts help brands and retailers stay ahead by anticipating consumer demand and industry shifts.
As you can see, understanding runway trends is valuable not only for fashion designers, but also for other creatives and business professionals—trend forecasters, and also buyers, editors, and more.
Trend knowledge: a competitive edge in your fashion job.
Trends are more than just looks—they are career opportunities. So if you are not just a fashion enthusiast but also an aspiring professional, you need to start seeing trends beyond their aesthetics, and use them as a strategic tool for your career.
Still, you might be wondering how trend knowledge is useful when you are just starting in the industry and not working yet as a designer, stylist, or marketing professional?
Well, if you want to become a fashion buyer, editor, trend forecaster…, you need to immerse yourself in their shoes already BEFORE you get the job. It means that you need to start learning and practicing the skills they use day-to-day and showcase this knowledge in your job applications. In this case, it’s about showing your runway trend knowledge.
Although you don’t need to be an experienced professional to start your career in fashion aka with an internship (most of which don’t require previous experience), we did say that trend knowledge can open you MORE career opportunities in fashion. More means getting responses from more recruiters when you apply online or send a cold email, being invited to more job interviews, and even unlocking unexpected opportunities by being scouted by recruiters directly for example when you showcase your work online
Even if you don’t have experience because maybe you are are student or recent graduate, showcasing runway trend knowledge can help you stand out. It’s a great option for beginners—one that suits your level of experience yet gives you a competitive edge among other candidates.
It might look complex at first glance, but trend spotting is a skill you can learn.
How to Showcase Your Runway Trend Knowledge
All right—you are ready to showcase your runway trend knowledge to boost your fashion career opportunities, but how?
Create a Trend Mood Board
You might have noticed in magazines and social media that trends are often presented in the form of a mood board. This is something you can do—create a mood board that reflects the trends you spotted during Fashion Month for the upcoming season.
However, it’s not just about collecting images and building a nice collage with your favorite looks. You need to be strategic and thoughtful about what you include in the mood board.
Include Trend Analysis in Your Portfolio
You can later include this trend mood board in your portfolio. I always recommend adding it to each job or internship application to showcase your interest, knowledge, and extra motivation for your dream career in fashion.
Doing this practical exercise as if you were a fashion professional might look complex and intimidating at first glance, but trend spotting is a skill you can learn easily. Are you interested?
Learn Trend Forecasting with Our Live Workshop!
I invite you to join my Live Online Workshop: Decoding The Runway.
When: March 18 at 1pm CET (recording will be available if you can’t make it live.)
During the 2-hour online live workshop you’ll learn:
- How various fashion professionals analyze runway collections
- How YOU can identify trends looking at the runway
- Practical session: Create a trend mood board reviewed by Giada, CEO and Founder of Glam Observer, that you can use for your portfolio
Thanks to this workshop, you will learn how to spot runway trends as an expert (even if you don’t have experience or are still a student) AND discover how you can build a professional trends mood board that you can use for your portfolio.
How to participate?
This workshop is an exclusive gift for all my students of my online course Break into the Fashion Industry. Enroll here now to get it for FREE!
I can’t wait to see you there to chat about this Fashion Month and learn to decode trends together!
