A Creative Journey with Rachael Gentner in Trend Analysis & Design Evolution
Fashion Snoops, a global trend forecasting agency, provides services to brands, retailers, and manufacturers in various consumer-facing industries, enabling them to anticipate upcoming trends. The agency researches macro trends and cultural changes, maintaining a broad perspective and early awareness to identify key shifts that will influence consumer behaviours.
Recently, Rachael Gentner, the Creative Director of Active at FS, shared her wealth of experience in trend analysis and design during an interview with the TVC Media Team. With a strong focus on exploring cultural movements, innovation, and design evolution, Rachael has been instrumental in driving creativity and forward-thinking initiatives at Fashion Snoops for the past six years.
1. As the Creative Director of Active at Fashion Snoops, can you share some exclusive intel about the Activewear Industry?
The activewear market is no longer limited to just the gym. With athleisure and performance becoming increasingly integrated with everyday fashion, we see how rapidly changing lifestyles and evolving climates are pushing boundaries when it comes to how consumers move and what they require from products today. Some of the biggest current design drivers are sustainability, enhanced functionality, and of course—community reconnection.
Designs need to have more meaning, and more significance as sustainability becomes a driving force from concept to purchase. By championing eco materials and utilising more natural practices such as local organic colour, products create a deeper connection to the surrounding environment as we explore with a lighter footprint. Biodegradable, 3-D printed, and made-to-be-disassembled products are also key— taking on a full-circle approach as they consider their environmental impact pre and post-lifecycle
More hybrid conditions create a desire for pieces that work across multiple activities while keeping us ready for anything in an unstable world. Cost-conscious consumers are prioritising functionality and looking towards designs that are made to extend past a reason or a season. Creating with modularity and adaptability in mind allows designs to take on a more inclusive approach—empowering consumers to move freely with confidence.
As the world becomes increasingly more connected to technology and further disconnected from our society—consumers find deeper value in offline events, shared bonding, and products that highlight the communities that have made us who we are today.
2. How do you explore the intersection of rising cultural movements, emerging innovation, & impactful design shifts in your work?
At Fashion Snoops, we combine all of this information and provide the key takeaways and product-driven analysis that will be important in the seasons ahead. Blending primary and secondary data sources—our team tracks these emerging trends as they enter the zeitgeist and translates them into real-time reports that are published and updated daily. Quite often, these reports continue to evolve and later serve as the basis for much larger reports that confirm key ideas across the market.
3. What makes Fashion Snoops stand out in the trend forecasting industry?
At Fashion Snoops, we are the experts in combining data with a humanistic core. When forecasting future trends, this balance becomes more valuable than either of these qualities alone. We are committed to showcasing the “why” and “how” a concept will evolve alongside the trend, offering a wider vision and 360° style approach to forecasting. By acknowledging that data is important for our research process, it is also crucial to recognize that what lies at the heart of successful design is human intuition.
4. Could you elaborate on the tools and features that Fashion Snoops offers, such as the connected platform, market tracking tools, and personalised experience?
FS has always been a step ahead when it comes to technology, as our company was one of the very first digital trend platforms. We have seamlessly integrated AI within our workflow over the years, allowing reports to take on a tech-boosted power as we experiment with unexplored ways of translating data and inspiration. By taking a look at how clients use our platform, we have initiated new tools such as Create—which offers an opportunity to customise the reports made by our content team for a personalised appeal, as well as our Live suite which utilises an AI-aggregation tool to continuously update curated imagery across Retail, Social Media, and Runway.
5. In such a fast-paced industry, how do Fashion Snoops stay ahead and start early to track the shifts that will shape consumer decisions?
The speed at which we consume trends has been forever altered through the introduction of social media. These seemingly momentary life cycles have been accelerated due to rapid likes, reposts, and viral outreach—putting trends of today in the hands of consumers with an endless, scrollable feed. While traditional adoption rates used to be around 1-2 years, we are now witnessing trends popping up with a varied shelf life of several years to just a couple of weeks. With this new pace, designers feel the need to react quicker and anticipate new concepts with a much faster turnaround. While it can feel like an endless race to constantly create and react— the solution is not working faster, it’s working smarter.
6. Can you explain how Fashion Snoops brings transparency to trend forecasting & allows users full visibility into the conclusion.
Transparency is the key to trust, both as a brand and a consumer. Our team works to confirm ideas that we previously forecasted, as well as tracking evolving trends throughout the season. We utilise updates emerging from social media, trade shows, retail, and runway to provide additional updates as well as link all of our research and imagery for a clear flow of information that encourages further exploration. At Fashion Snoops, we create an opportunity for clients to see how we arrive at these trends and how we see them evolving so that they feel more confident in their design direction for future seasons ahead.
