The unpredictable nature of the fashion industry — with its varying factors such as fast fashion, TikTok trends, influencers and fashion week shows — makes it especially difficult to pinpoint what consumers are gravitating toward. Cotton Incorporated’s trend forecasters, whose expertise lies in analyzing fashion, have decoded what consumers will be purchasing looking ahead.
“We analyze cultural trends, global trends and the evolution of things like fashion, fabric, consumer sentiment, the economy and the psychology of the consumer,” said Linda DeFranco, director of fashion marketing at Cotton Incorporated. “We do this through research trips to different countries, analyzing the markets and buying samples. We analyze street styles to see what people are wearing and how they’re wearing it. If we’re in a store, we see what they’re selling and — even more importantly — look at what’s on the sales rack to determine what’s happening in that country, which could be influencing more of a global market.”
Related Articles
Online research is a major part of the research, as are local findings in New York. “New York is an inspiration to the rest of the world in terms of fashion,” said DeFranco.
This research involves both numbers and intuition. DeFranco explained that the team looks at measurable data like sales and disposable income. Those figures are then combined with the intuitiveness that comes with years of industry experience.
As fashion analysts, DeFranco said that Cotton Incorporated’s trend forecasters are part of a brand’s supply chain. The team works with designers, retailers and product developers and sourcing and merchandising teams — who are the fiber decision-makers.
About 18 months in advance of when each fashion week is presenting, the team works to meet every client on their design schedule. They also present macro trends and break down for each particular brand — based on their audience — to make the presentation customized. “It’s not one size fits all,” DeFranco said.
Cotton Incorporated’s Lauren Williams, trend forecaster in fashion marketing, said that working with a client is a detailed process that involves meetings, discussions, travel and reading about art, architecture, technology and fashion.
“This really drives our lifestyle and consumer research,” said Williams. “Throughout those meetings, common themes or threads start to build. In the end, we typically have about three trends per presentation. These are the strongest for that season going forward.”
Williams said outside factors can affect trend forecasting, such as where the Olympics are being held and if it’s an election year. The team then starts to filter down trends in color or art, which informs the fashion story, as it relates to fabric and styling details.
DeFranco said Cotton Incorporated’s clients tend to be very busy and don’t have time to get out of the office and do legwork on their own.
“When you have someone that only concentrates on forecasting and analyzing the market for them, it becomes a very important component in their planning and the planning of their supply chain,” said DeFranco. “We give them direction and talk to them about cultural trends, show them the colors, the fabrics — and even give them fabric swatches, which is important in this increasingly digital age. The tactility is so important, especially for cotton, since they get to touch and feel actual fabrics that could potentially be used in their collections.”
DeFranco said it’s gratifying to show clients the different types of cotton fabrics, because it “breaks the stereotypes” about cotton and what it can be used for. This is particularly true when it comes to active and outerwear, as those categories are often associated with a synthetic. Feeling the material broadens their horizon about how the fabric itself can be innovated and engineered to be “most anything anyone really wants.”
Williams added that specialized presentations serve to highlight technical cotton technologies that Cotton Incorporated has developed. These serve the activewear categories particularly well.
“Whether it’s the Storm Cotton™ [technology] that adds water resistance, the TransDry® technology for moisture management, the Tough Cotton™ [technology] for the abrasion resistance, we try to make sure we’re highlighting these attributes to active clients so they know cotton can perform in this marketplace through these technologies,” Williams said. “I feel like the younger generation is paying so much attention to sustainability, recycling, reusing and gearing themselves to a more natural lifestyle — this will trickle down to their fashion choices. They’re looking for brands with a strong ethos for natural fibers. This younger generation might start to gravitate more toward seeing cotton with technical attributes or in a technical market, because it’s a natural fiber.”
Trend forecasting reports are now featured on Cotton Incorporated’s CottonWorks™ website, for general product innovation, color, active and denim. Cotton Incorporated’s Trend Forecasting reports are a complementary tool for industry professionals to stay ahead of consumer preferences. With cotton trend forecasts backed by expert research, CottonWorks™ members gain exclusive insight on what’s next in color, silhouettes, fabrics and more.
Taking a look at spring 2026 predictions made 18 months ago, in comparison to what was shown during the recent New York Fashion Week shows. The team predicted colors like sunbaked peach, acid green — which were both shown in PatBo’s collection — and combinations like tan with red, and deep blue paired with glacial blue — as seen at Rachel Comey — would be as part of the collections.
In the “Celebra-Ordinary” category under Elevated Staples, the team specifically predicted lace-adorned denim. This style popped up at the LoveShackFancy show, where lace-trimmed denim shorts, jeans and denim jackets were on display. The team also predicted 3D garments. That trend was spotted at the Rynshu runway show, with its suits and skirts presented in a raised grid fabrication. “It’s remarkable to see how a trend builds itself from idea and conception, to being in our full package presentation with the lifestyle story and the colors we feel fit that story. And then seeing it come to life through runway images, with the fashion and fabric we found in our research process. It really is amazing to see that come together,” concluded Williams.
This article was supplied by Cotton Incorporated.