New Looks, New Presentation for Fields' Spring 2008 Forecast
The 500 retailers attending the Barbara Fields Buying Office’s forecast of Spring ’08 juniors fashions learned that organic T-shirts and crochet sweaters will be among the top items coveted by teens.
However, they also witnessed a real change of style for Fields, a veteran fashion forecaster, when she introduced her annual Fall talk Oct. 8 at the 13th-floor penthouse of the California Market Center.
After several years of presenting forecasts marked by spoken commentary and a parade of assistants holding up sweaters or dresses, Fields opted this season to show the trends on a runway without a running commentary on key trends for the season.
After a few introductory comments preceding the fashion show, Fields stopped talking and let the fashions tell the trend story. A crew of more than 24 models walked down a runway in the penthouse in an event produced by Jeffrey Lindsay Reif of Los Angeles– based brand-imaging company The Fashion Office.
Spring 2008 trends included several dress styles, including the maxi dress, the apron dress and crochet dress. Popular jacket shapes include trench coats, cropped jackets and the bomber jacket.
Key bottoms included pencil skirts and high-waisted pants and shorts. Popular graphics for T-shirts will feature sports team numbers.
The attending retailers included representatives from Wet Seal and Gottschalks. For buyers wanting further explanation of the trends, Fields provided a program titled the “Fields Spring ’08 Fashion Show Trend Directory” and set up an adjacent room of booths exhibiting trends for Spring 2008 and a sneak peek at Fall 2008.
Retailers attending the show did not protest the change of pace. Shane Lord, a buyer for Boot Barn, based in Orange, Calif., said he picked up on the pertinent trends without the spoken commentary. However, buyers had to pay extra attention to get the full trend picture for the season. “The fashion show was fast-paced,” he said.—Andrew Asch
