CRYSTAL BALL: Style guru Nelly Rodi, the creator of the trend forecasting agency of the same name, has penned a tome documenting her colorful life in fashion and the birth of a profession.
“Quelques saisons d’avance,” (which translates into English as “A few seasons ahead”) charts the arrival of the concept of trend forecasting in the ’60s and ’70s in the context of a changing fashion ecosystem and offers observations on its relevance and avenues for evolution in the future.
Related Articles
From her earliest memories in Algeria, which she fled with her parents and older brother, to the family’s arrival in France, a formative internship at Prisunic (now Monoprix) in the ’60s and friendships and professional relationships with figures from the fashion industry including André Courrèges and Jean-Paul Gaultier, Rodi tells her story and that of an key period in the French fashion ecosystem.
You May Also Like
“The world is changing a lot, we are at the dawn of a new era,” she told WWD over the phone. “I didn’t want people to forget the role that trend forecasting agencies have played, to leave a memory. No one had written a book about how trends were predicted.”
In a time of influencers, fast fashion and increasingly, artificial intelligence, she said, there is a sense of immediacy that is a disconnect from the raison-d’être of trend forecasting, which looks to societal trends to offer creative avenues to brands to inform future collections, she said. “It will be the role of the industry’s elders to educate the younger generation.”
When her agency was born in the mid-’80s, “Everything was manual,” she explained. “Sketches, photography, models…”
“I’m blown away by the possibilities opened up by AI,” she commented. “It’s an enormous opportunity, but we will always need the human angle to create emotion.”
Published by Bouquins, the 286-page paperback is out Thursday, priced 21 euros, with a signing set for the Première Classe trade show in the Tuileries on Friday.