5 Best Free Trend Forecasting Sources for Fashion Brands
Time to read: 3.5 minutes
Trying to understand future trends is important so we can not just keep up but stay ahead of the curve. Things, events, and people change so rapidly in this day and age; you need to be ready for an ever-quickening pace. Trend forecasting services can often be quite costly and not necessarily targeted at small business owners. I’ve rounded up the top 5 sites for free but high-quality trend information. If you’ve got another one to add, leave a comment below.
How to Get WGSN for Free (and the Best Alternatives)
If you are researching trend forecasting, you have likely wondered how to get WGSN for free. While full access to their platform requires a paid subscription, you can occasionally grab their free whitepapers and reports on their website. However, if you need full trend data without the massive price tag, here are the best free alternatives you can use right now...
WGSN
One of the biggest players in the game, WGSN has been around since 1998. Based in London, they were the first to create an online trend forecasting resource. While their paid services start at 5 figures, they have an extremely robust blog called WGSN Insider. They cover fashion, lifestyle, culture, strategy, and more. Mini trend reports are available to download... Plus, they go above and beyond with excellent videos on their YouTube channel too!
Follow WGSN | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube
TrendStop
Have a look at Trendstop for their superb page of free trend reports available to download. You'll need to sign up with your email address. Trendstop also has a blog with short articles but plenty of visuals.
Also sign up for a free account to access their TrendStream feature. It snapshots key trends in an infinite scroll grid.
Follow Trendstop | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter | YouTube
The Doneger Group
Like the others, Doneger also has a free blog. It’s a little more text based than the others so expect some interesting reading. I’m personally a big fan of their newsletter the Doneger Weekly. This email blast includes sections; the look, inspire, what we’re reading and looking ahead. There's also a freebie report to download each week too!
Follow The Doneger Group | Instagram | Twitter
WeConnect
https://www.weconnectfashion.com/articles/section/trends
If you’re just looking for some quick answers relating to a particular season or category, the WeConnect trend section is a fantastic resource. They have numerous free trend reports from the likes of Design Options and the Trend Council.
Fashion Snoops
Fashion Snoops send some great newsletters that include trend reports and the weekly Top 5 Tuesdays. They have a fun section called Color Insider that details 2018 colors, not much of a blog, just a press section.
Follow Fashion Snoops | Instagram | Pinterest
Rounding Up
If you're still on the lookout, see TrendZoom for some nice reports. While Trend Bible also has a great blog, the focus is interiors more than fashion.
If you can think of any other quality free sources we’ve missed off, then add a comment below!
Author Bio
Tech Packs Co founder Belinda is a technical fashion designer from London, now based in Los Angeles. Belinda had her first job in fashion at the age of 15, fixing swatch cards together. Since then, Belinda has been designing & creating tech packs for more than a decade... for household name brands and independent designers alike.