Colour Forecasting: Seasonal Colours

Colour forecasting is essentially part of the fashion trend forecasting process that offers designers direction in the selection of seasonal colour palettes and other design decisions for product creation. Trend information is sold in the form of trend packages primarily to fashion and textile companies and to other consumer product industries whose sales also rely on meeting the demands of consumer taste. However, this diversification of the clientele has resulted in the promotion of more generalised colour directions; the opposite of industrial practice where knowledge of consumer desires and preferences is intrinsic in design and marketing processes. This chapter explains the role of the forecasting sector and the process they employ to create seasonal colour palettes and how these are promoted to the fashion and textile industry. The weakness of the process and the importance of consumer colour acceptance are discussed concluding with the benefits of using consumer colour data.