Trend Science: Future Proofing Your Brand

On February 13 and 14, Marketing and Fashion Marketing Chair Wendy Bendoni conducted several presentations at WWD MAGIC, the largest fashion trade show in North America in Las Vegas.

In one of her presentations, Wendy explored the importance of “future proofing” a fashion brand through the power of intuitive innovation in both the digital and technology space. Aware of the speed of innovations in today’s fast paced fashion arena, Wendy highlighted how the “creatives” in the fashion industry could gain new insight to the world of trend-science which includes data science, smart computing, and algorithms to predict what consumers want before they know they want it. She also took a closer look at the fashion-on-demand generation through the narrative voice of fashion influencers and social confirmation, and examined how brands and retailers can utilize influencers’ curated content to provide an intuitive look at what drives consumers’ interest that can ultimately grow and expand your business.

The audience  consisted of retailers representing 42 countries, including buyers, marketers and product development teams on the changing landscape of retail and consumer buying behavior. At the event, Prof. Bendoni also conducted a great interview Marcy Medina, the West Coast Bureau Chief of WWD on the future of retail brick-and-mortar. WWD is one of the most influential trade paper to the trillion-dollar fashion industry.