Reflections on the status of truth in trend studies

Abstract

In the world of fashion, the trend studies proposed by bureaux de style were established as a strategy to foresee certain clothing practices, aiming to minimize the risk of investment spent on the development of collections. However, anticipating future practices always presents a certain character of uncertainty, so it is essential that a trend forecast is perceived as “true” by its recipients. By reflecting on trend studies from a semiotic-discursive perspective, the objective is to understand how the status of truth is attributed to discourses in the field of trend research. The theoretical-methodological approach of Discursive Semiotics by A. J. Greimas is adopted, mainly in his proposition of the veridiction contract, as well as its developments in Eric Landowski’s Sociosemiotics, in enunciation studies and in semiotic studies on Fashion and trends. From this study, it is understood that the statute of truth in trend research is less linked to verifying if the anticipation actually happens (or not), and more related to the way trend analysts perceive the reality and their ability to make fashion creators and buyers believe in this specific vision.