How Fashion Trends Form: A B2 English Reading Lesson

Level: B2

Printable: Student handout (PDF) | Teacher’s key (PDF)

Reading

Why do shops in different countries sell similar colors and shapes in the same season? Part of the answer is an industry that sells forecasts of what will be popular, months or years before shoppers see the clothes. This lesson describes how that system works, based on researchers and industry sources, and says where the claims are uncertain.

Early theories explained fashion through social class. In 1904, the German sociologist Georg Simmel argued that the upper classes create fashion, lower classes copy it through imitation, and the elite then move on to something new to stay distinct. Later scholars questioned this idea. In 1969, Herbert Blumer proposed that fashion comes from collective selection: designers do not command taste but try to identify what most people are already ready to accept. Other researchers describe a “trickle-up” pattern, in which styles begin with young people or subcultures and are picked up by designers. One textbook gives Harajuku street fashion in Japan as an example. None of these models explains every trend, and one reference work says the historical evidence for an orderly trickle-down is not very convincing.

Today, much of the planning is done by trend forecasters. WGSN, founded in 1998, sells subscription access to its reports to fashion brands and retailers. It says it consults about 2,800 outside data sources, and that more than 250 experts add analysis, with analysts checking its forecasts in an approach it calls “analyst in the loop.” Pantone, a color company, publishes color reports for New York Fashion Week, and its Color Institute chooses a Color of the Year. Researchers who studied forecasting agencies in Paris reported that they look two, five, or even ten years ahead by searching for “weak signals,” small early signs of social change. Their customers are businesses, which pay to avoid costly mistakes.

The timeline is long. A 2012 book on color forecasting for fashion describes palettes that are often drawn up 18 to 24 months before the selling season. A page from the University of Leeds notes that the traditional supply chain from design to shop took about 18 months, and that newer manufacturing systems have shortened it, in some cases to as little as three weeks between manufacture and retail. In industry language, the gap between planning and delivery is the lead time, and it varies widely between companies.

Do forecasters predict trends or create them? WGSN says that its TrendCurve AI model forecasts trends with 94 percent accuracy up to a year ahead. That is the company’s own figure, and this lesson found no independent test of it. WGSN has also made different claims over time: 90 percent for up to twelve months when it launched a tool in 2022, and “over 90 percent” for up to two years in a blog post that year. There is also a logical problem. If many brands, mills, and retailers choose similar colors two years ahead, those are the colors that exist in shops, so a forecast that guides production can be partly self-fulfilling. The Leeds page also mentions an opposing view, that forecasting encourages waste and overconsumption. This lesson found no study that measures how large the effect is.

What reaches ordinary shops is usually a simplified version of the runway. Buyers curate the ideas, choosing the ones they think customers will accept. Social media adds another route. Bloomberg Businessweek reported in 2024 that editors at magazines such as Vogue once dictated styles, but that smartphones and social media made fashion more visible and trend-calling more volatile. A viral video can spread a style quickly, and short-lived styles are often called microtrends. Articles and student blogs say that microtrends now last weeks instead of years, but this lesson found no rigorous measurement of that claim.

Almost everyone who makes a trend claim has an interest in it. Pantone says its Color of the Year is not an arbitrary decision, but its 2026 choice, a white called Cloud Dancer, was criticized by some designers as safe. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission requires influencers to disclose clearly when they have a paid or free-product connection to a brand they endorse, and it has sent warning letters to influencers and brands. Magazines earn money in other ways. Two of the trend reports used for the companion lesson on Fall/Winter 2026-27 state on their pages that the publisher may earn an affiliate commission when readers buy through its links.

Vocabulary

Each word has a frequency score, a rank, and a tag. The score shows how common the word is in modern English: higher means more common, and each full point means roughly ten times more common. The rank is the word’s position on a list of about 321,000 English word forms, from most to least common. The tag shows where you are most likely to meet the word: Current, Formal, Literary, or Dated. The paragraph number shows where the word first appears in the reading. The labels are information, not instructions. Deciding which words are worth your time is up to you. How to read the scores, ranks, and tags.

An industry sells forecasts of what will be popular.
The weather forecasts say it will snow tomorrow.

Simmel said that lower classes copy fashion through imitation.
Children learn many skills through imitation.

In Simmel’s theory, the elite move on to something new.
The club was open only to a small elite.

Blumer proposed that fashion comes from collective selection.
The decision was a collective effort by the whole team.

WGSN sells subscription access to its reports to brands and retailers.
She pays a monthly subscription to a music service.

The gap between planning and delivery is the lead time.
The factory has a lead time of six weeks for new orders.

A forecast that guides production can be partly self-fulfilling.
Believing you will fail can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Buyers curate the runway ideas that reach ordinary shops.
She curates a weekly newsletter of design articles.

Social media made trend-calling more volatile.
Oil prices were volatile during the crisis.

A viral video can spread a style quickly.
Her cooking video went viral overnight.

Short-lived styles are often called microtrends.
Each summer brings a new microtrend in sunglasses.

Pantone says its Color of the Year is not an arbitrary decision.
The deadline felt arbitrary, with no clear reason behind it.

The FTC requires influencers to disclose a paid connection to a brand.
The company refused to disclose the price of the deal.

Influencers must disclose a connection to a brand they endorse.
Several doctors endorsed the new safety guidelines.

The publisher may earn an affiliate commission when readers buy through its links.
Many blogs use affiliate links in their reviews.

Activity Page

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Speed Challenge

Answer 12 questions against the clock. Every wrong answer adds 5 seconds, and the lowest score wins. Open the speed challenge in a new tab.

Comprehension Questions

What question does the first paragraph raise, and what does the lesson say it will describe?
According to the reading, how did Simmel in 1904 explain the way fashion changes?
How does Blumer’s idea of collective selection differ from Simmel’s view, and what does the reading say about the historical evidence for trickle-down?
How does WGSN describe its methods, and how does it earn money?
What did researchers who studied forecasting agencies in Paris report about how far ahead the agencies look?
According to the reading, how long does the traditional supply chain from design to shop take, and what has changed?
Why does the reading say that WGSN’s 94 percent accuracy figure should be treated carefully?
What does it mean to say that a forecast can be “partly self-fulfilling,” and what opposing view does the reading mention?
The reading says almost everyone who makes a trend claim has an interest in it. Using the last paragraph, explain who has an interest and how each one benefits.

IELTS-Style Questions

True, False, or Not Given: “An independent study has proved that trend forecasters create most fashion trends.” Explain your answer using evidence from the reading.
Yes, No, or Not Given: “The writer believes that trend forecasting is useless.” Explain your answer using evidence from the reading.
Author’s purpose: Why does the writer end with the fact about affiliate commissions? Is its purpose to accuse magazines of dishonesty, to give an example of a business interest, or something else?

AI Discussion Prompt

I just read a lesson about how fashion trends become trends. It covered Simmel’s trickle-down theory and Blumer’s collective selection, trickle-up styles, forecasting companies such as WGSN and Pantone, color decisions made 18 to 24 months ahead, the argument that forecasts are partly self-fulfilling, the effect of social media and microtrends, and the business interests behind trend claims. I am an English learner at about B2 level. Please ask me one question at a time, starting with how I learn about new styles. Respond to my ideas first, then briefly correct any language errors, and ask me to explain my reasoning when I make a strong claim.

AI Vocabulary Prompt

I want to practice vocabulary from a lesson about how fashion trends form. Please quiz me on the following words one at a time, using a mix of question types: multiple choice, true/false, and sentence completion. Give me feedback after each answer before moving on, and bring back the words I miss later. Here are the words: forecasts, imitation, elite, collective, subscription, lead time, self-fulfilling, curate, volatile, viral, microtrends, arbitrary, disclose, endorse, affiliate.

Discussion Questions

How do you learn about new styles: shops, social media, friends, magazines, or somewhere else?
Have you ever bought something because a friend or an influencer had it? How did you decide?
In Simmel’s theory, the elite move on when others copy them. Can you think of a modern example, such as a brand or a style that became too common?
Blumer said designers identify what people are ready to accept. Do you think designers lead taste or follow it? Explain.
Give an example of a style that began with young people or a subculture in your country and later became mainstream.
Forecasting companies charge businesses large fees. Do you think it is worth paying for predictions about what people will want? Why?
Colors for a season are chosen 18 to 24 months ahead. Does that change how you feel about following trends?
If many companies choose the same colors two years ahead, who really decides what we can buy? Give your view.
The reading says WGSN’s accuracy figure is the company’s own claim. How much should we trust a figure that comes from the seller?
Do you think microtrends are fun, wasteful, or both? What might be their effect on the clothes people throw away?
How can you tell whether a social media post is paid advertising? Should the rules for influencers be the same in every country?
Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2026 was criticized by some people as too safe. Should a company be able to name a color of the year? Why or why not?
Magazines may earn money when readers click shopping links. Does this change how much you trust their trend reports? Explain.
If you could design a fairer system for deciding what clothes are made, what would it look like?

Language Focus: Passive Voice for Processes

What it is: The passive voice (be + past participle) puts the thing that is affected at the start of the sentence. It is common when describing how a process works, especially when the person or company doing the action is unknown or less important.

Why writers use it: Process descriptions, reports, and explanations of how systems work use the passive voice often. It lets the writer focus on the steps and the results rather than on who carried them out.

Examples from the reading:

“…are picked up by designers.”
“Today, much of the planning is done by trend forecasters.”
“…palettes that are often drawn up 18 to 24 months before the selling season.”
“…short-lived styles are often called microtrends.”

Practice task: Rewrite in the passive voice, without naming who does the action: “Designers show the collections in February.”

(Example answer: “The collections are shown in February. To name the agent, add by designers at the end: The collections are shown by designers in February.”)

Recommended Resources

The Trend Forecast (99% Invisible). A radio story and article on how trend forecasters, including WGSN, work. It is useful background for paragraph 3.
Colour Forecasting of the Future (University of Leeds). A short page on the supply chain, the 18-month cycle, and the debate about waste described in paragraphs 4 and 5.
7 Fashion Theories (Iowa State University Pressbooks). A textbook chapter on trickle-down, trickle-up, and other theories of how styles spread, as in paragraph 2.
Fashion Trend Forecasting 2026-2028 (WGSN (promotional)). The company’s own page, which gives the 94 percent accuracy claim discussed in paragraph 5. It is promotional material.
What Brands Should Know About the FTC’s Updated Endorsement Guides (Marketing Dive). A trade article on the United States rules for disclosing paid influencer posts, as in paragraph 7.