Alice + Olivia
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a river. Just as a river has tributaries flowing in, so does a trend – except the tributaries are a myriad of cultural influences. Laura Coppen works as an in-house trend developer for a leading European High Street brand, and her job involves researching trends and then creating them. “A trend is coming from a variety of different sources and places, and it’s definitely not just the catwalk,” she explains. “For instance, films, art exhibitions, what other stores are doing worldwide, what’s going on in the news and technology. As technology advances, that can also make an idea a reality. So when you combine those elements, you can end up with a trend.”
Gucci
Two obvious influences for our era, of course, are bloggers and celebrities. “The celebrity and blogger worlds are affecting ages 12 through 30,” says Coppen, “but from 30 upwards, it’s things like galleries, movies, what they’re seeing in the stores, what their peers are wearing – these become their trends.” There’s also the mini-me phenomenon. Babies, after all, don’t have any agency when it comes to fashion, and as a result, the trend among fashion-savvy moms is to buy things for their kids that look like their own clothes. Fendi Altuzarra
All age groups, though, see their trends 101 A