Professional Documents
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Research Proposal
Research Proposal
(Moda, 2015)
ABSTRACT
The following research proposal investigates the topic of trend forecasting and how
modern culture has lead to major changes within this process. In the current retail
environment, consumer demand is at its highest meaning retailers dont always get it
right for their target customer and are often left with large amounts of markdowns
due to poor trend analysis. Therefore the researcher explores the utilisation of the
consumer and how their opinion can be implemented throughout the trend
forecasting process. The researcher has examined multiple pieces of literature,
where four sub-themes have been discovered. These sub themes focus on the
influence of culture within fashion & how modern culture has developed, the
emergence & utilisation of social networking sites, consumer engagement as well as
advantages of street style and its influence amongst consumers. Through the
development of a literature review, the researcher has explored various components
of the trend-forecasting topic and ultimately developed findings to further investigate.
These findings present that culture ultimately provides a sense of self-identity within
society where the theory of cultural triangulation is concludes that culture
increasingly contributes to trends within fashion. The researcher also found that a
rise in technology usage has advanced social media to become an empowering tool
for brands, particular through social media influencers on Instagram. As users obtain
a sense of empowerment, the researcher further explores the trickle across theory in
relation to street style and fashion forecasting techniques. Through this secondary
data It is therefore concluded by the researcher that it appears the link between
Instagram, the consumer and social media influencers can be effectively used within
the fashion industry. The research proposal then further explores how primary data
can be utilised within the topic and scopes out stakeholders who have the ability to
change the future of tend forecasting.
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1. INTRODUCTION