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.

The aim of this public conference is to explore 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 aims to find out how and why.

Speakers include American and European scholars, as well as representatives of the fashion prediction companies from Paris, New York and London. Professionals from the Amsterdam fashion world will comment on the fashion scene in the Netherlands and the role played by efficient fashion prediction. The Dutch experience will be compared internationally and confronted with existing theories on the fashion ecosystem.

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