an interview with fiona jenvey, ceo, mudpie

13/08/2009

Fiona Jenvey was recently interviewed by Fashion News magazine in Mexico. Read on to discover more about Fiona's role as an expert trend analyst, and how trends are identified and developed at Mudpie.

Fashion News (FN): Why MUDPIE? It's rather an odd name for a trend service.

Fiona Jenvey (FJ): This is based on an old family nickname and has no real meaning. In English it is quite a fun concept.

FN: As a trend analyst, do you travel a lot?

FJ: Speaking is very much part of our business and is something that we get invited to do at most major shows as well as delivering trend seminars to private audiences. I do seminars in New York (Fashion Institute of Technology), Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Bangkok, Montreal, Munich, Amsterdam, Paris and London. Of course it is also important to travel and gather information on cultures and new trends.

FN: What sources do you use to determine which trends will work?

FJ: I have a wide range of cultural interests. I find contemporary art to be extremely important as a starting point as well as architecture. Politics can be very influential too. Look how opinion in the United States is changing; the American public have embraced the first ever African American President, we predicted this effect nearly 3 years ago because we felt certain that Obama would be elected. Economics is very important.

FN: How does a trend begin?

FJ: The fashion forecast business exists on several levels:

Short term - retailers copy the runway, celebrity style and 'comp shop' other retailers for ideas. This is all covered on Mpdclick. The main issue here is the possibility of picking up a runway trend that does not translate well to the high street.

Long term - To explain this I will talk about how we forecast the current retail seasons of AW 0809 and SS 09. We started our research process for this in 2006. The only way to forecast 2 or 3 years ahead is to follow social and economic trends rather than fashion trends. If we look at the situation today there is a trend for more classic styling rather than fast fashion. We predicted this because we felt that people would become more cautious. We forecast this in 2007 for AW 0809 as 'Gentlemen's Club' and 'Austerity.' Studying the economy made us sure that a recession was coming based on unsustainable boom years and high personal debt - we were clearly right about this and very accurate with our timing for AW 0809.

For AW 0809 we forecast our 'Southern Soundbite' theme. In 2006/7 Fidel Castro of Cuba had been in the news regularly and Obama was a Democrat Candidate in the USA, we felt sure he would win. Also, New Orleans was in the news because of all the problems after hurricane Katrina. We felt that Black and Latin American culture would become more important in the world and the election of Obama has proved this right.

FN: How long does a trend last?

FJ: It really depends. After the runway season there will be some short term styling trends that the retailers copy. The reality is that the designer who created the original collection has researched trends at a much deeper level perhaps taking inspiration from social mood, art, architecture or a mixture of influences.

The longer lasting trends tend to be those which follow social trends as these build over a longer period.

FN: Is it possible to predict the length of time a trend will last?

FJ: You can predict this in general terms, a look worn by a particular celebrity for example will be a short lived trend but one driven by the economy will last much longer and build over time. For example the trend for luxury became very strong before the recession because of years of economic confidence. This was a longer trend.

FN: Does the unexpected happen in the trend world, destabilizing the forecast?

FJ: Yes but only temporarily. For example the Swine flu health scare. Mexico has been looking like a good place to do business, particularly for the fashion industry that has been using you as a sourcing solution. Mexican fashion has been becoming stronger and contemporary Mexican culture more internationally important. Swine flu has affected the growth of this trend - but this is temporary, the underlying trend for Latin American culture will continue to strengthen.

FN: Is there a formula for turning global trends into commercial products?

FJ: There is no formula; it's really a matter of visualization and asking yourself what effect a trend will have on your product.

FN: What are the advantages of an internet trend service as opposed to a book trend service?

FJ: An internet service such as Mpdclick is updated constantly and is able to contain much more information. For example, if you are a women's wear designer a trend book will give you the styles for the season. Mpdclick will give you the reasons why those styles are important as well as update the information on a continuous basis. Mpdclick has business information as well meaning that everyone in the company can get the information that is important to them from the service, where a trend book tends to be a design only solution.

FN: In Mexico, London design schools are considered the best options, but almost impossible to get into. Would you say this is true?

FJ: Actually I believe that If Mexico's best talent chose to train in Mexico this would be the best long term option. As this would give the universities and design schools in Mexico better reputations. Mexico has been classed by Goldman Sachs as one of the 'Next 11' up-and-coming countries, meaning that the long term trend is to work through the country's problems and start building further success. Even if students do train in London, returning home to work could be a very good long term option.

FN: How would you describe your experience as a student at the London School of Fashion?

FJ: I actually come from London but felt lucky every day that I studied there. I very quickly learned to get noticed. It was a really competitive time, economically quite similar to the times we face now. I learned to get as much experience as possible.

While I was at London College of Fashion, I also used to work part time as a design assistant for the fashion retailer Topshop. I found the creative energy and harsh environment very inspiring, you simply had to say yes to everything. If any of you have seen the Film 'The Devil Wears Prada' the environment was as harsh as that but nothing like as glamorous!

For more information on Fiona Jenvey, Mudpie and their products and services, please visit www.mudpie.co.uk

For more information about Fashion News, Mexico, please visit www.fashionnews.com.mx