Professor
Nancy Ostroff
- Jay & Patty Baker School of Business & Technology
- Fashion Business Management Department
Fashion Forward
A Guide to Fashion Forecasting
Co-Author: Chelsea Rousso
Fashion Forward demystifies the exciting career of a fashion forecaster and fosters skills that will benefit any design professional. The book begins with an overview of fashion forecasting theories and concepts and then leads readers through a step-by-step guide to creating and presenting a forecast. The authors reveal the inner workings of global fashion forecasting through real-world examples and interviews with both influential forecasters and the designers who rely upon them. Fashion Forward enables readers to start spotting tomorrow’s trends today and compellingly communicate them—both visually and verbally—to inspire fashion innovators.
How did you come up with the idea?
It is a 2nd edition of a book that was already published. It was outdated but I liked the bones of the book and wanted to use for my classes. So I approached the publisher who introduced me to the author of the 1st edition.
What was your research process like?
Chelsea Rousso, my co-author lives in Florida, so we met face-to-face every few months, collaborated by phone, FaceTime, & Google Docs. She came here to NYC several times & we interviewed many industry and professionals and worked together on the manuscript, photo selections, and instructor guide. We also used the FIT library and its archives to research the history of fashion forecasting and to learn of all the many forecast resources that the FIT library has to offer and the importance of their application. Several library faculty helped us in various ways.
What are you proudest of?
The success of the collaboration and its end result. The book is used at FIT for most sections of FM245- Fashion Forecasting, which is currently an FBM elective and will become a required course in 2019. It is also used at at many other colleges.
- Time to publication: 2 years
- Professor at FIT since 2000
- Teaches Fashion Forecasting, Contemporary Retail Management, & The Business of Licensing