Have you ever wondered how fashion trends work? How do people decide what clothes to buy, or what clothes to wear? When we started thinking about launching a clothing brand, our minds were bombarded with exactly these questions. This curiosity led us into deep internet research, countless articles, and long, in-depth discussions with AI models. The outcome of this curiosity-driven exploration turned out to be truly fascinating.
In this blog, we are documenting those learnings so we can return here from time to time to revisit the fundamentals and dynamics of the fashion industry. We also hope this helps others who are trying to understand fashion in a similar way.
Fashion Trend Life Cycle
Fashion trends typically follow a five-stage life cycle:
Introduction
This initial stage marks the birth of a trend, where innovative designs debut in niche settings such as runway shows or designer previews. Adoption is limited to early adopters, fashion insiders, stylists, or influencers with low sales but high buzz potential. According to fashion forecasting firms, only about 10–20% of introduced styles gain real traction.
Rise
Momentum builds as the trend spreads through media coverage, celebrity endorsements, and social sharing. Visibility increases rapidly, driving early sales growth and encouraging wider experimentation among consumers.
Peak
At its zenith, the trend becomes fully absorbed into the market, it is everywhere: retail stores, social feeds, and everyday wardrobes. This is the most profitable phase, but overexposure often signals the beginning of its decline.
Decline
Interest fades as the novelty wears off and newer styles compete for attention. Sales slow down, discounts increase, and inventory is cleared, although a small group of loyal followers may sustain the trend briefly.
Obsolescence
The trend is widely perceived as outdated and exits mainstream fashion. It may be discarded, archived, or reclassified as vintage often resurfacing years later in reinterpreted or nostalgic forms.
This table illustrates trend llife-cycle:
| Stage | Duration (Modern Context) | Key Indicators | Sustainability Opportunity | Example Trend |
| Introduction | Weeks | Runway debuts, niche buzz | Eco-material prototyping | Technical glamour (2025) |
| Rise | 1-3 months | Social spikes, endorsements | Scalable ethical production | Brat green (2024-2025) |
| Peak | 1-6 months | Mass retail saturation | Variant innovation for longevity | Barbiecore pink (2023) |
| Decline | 1-4 months | Sales drops, discounts | Resale/upcycling integrations | Holographic sneakers (2025) |
| Obsolescence | Indefinite (post-fade) | Vintage status, disposal | Circular recycling programs | Low-rise jeans (2000s) |
Understanding this cycle is essential for retailers (brands like ours, M.I.H.A.M.I), designers, and consumers alike. It informs decisions ranging from inventory planning to personal styling, and explains why some silhouettes fade after a single season while others evolve into timeless staples.
Fashion Industry Market Segments
The fashion industry is broadly segmented into the following markets:
Luxury
High-end brands focused on exclusivity, craftsmanship, and storytelling, typically operating with premium pricing structures. These brands target affluent consumers seeking status and experiential value. Examples include Chanel and Hermès.
Premium
Positioned between luxury and mass fashion, this segment offers refined design and quality at relatively accessible prices for the upper-middle class. It blends luxury aesthetics with everyday wearability. Key characteristics include superior materials (such as organic cotton or leather alternatives), trend-relevant seasonal collections, and omni-channel retail with an emphasis on personalisation.
Mid-Market
This segment delivers fashionable, quality-driven apparel with agile production cycles and experiential retail formats. It appeals to trend-aware yet value-conscious consumers. Examples include Zara, Gap, Levi’s, Mango, and Uniqlo.
Value / Fast Fashion
Focused on ultra-low pricing and rapid turnaround, this segment democratizes trends through high-volume manufacturing, largely based in Asia. Characteristics often include synthetic fabrics, short product lifespans, and data-driven drops. While margins are lower, scale drives profitability.
These segments form a hierarchical pyramid structure, where each level caters to different consumer aspirations, disposable incomes, and lifestyle priorities. This framework often visualized with luxury at the top and value fashion at the base, helps brands position themselves strategically in the market.
| Segment | Global Market Share (2025 Est.) | Avg. Price per Item | Production Cycle | Sustainability Focus | Key 2026 Driver |
| Luxury | 2-3% volume; 20-25% profits | $1,000+ | 6-12 months | High (traceability) | Creative reboots |
| Premium | 15-20% | $200–$800 | 4-6 months | Medium (eco-materials) | Asia expansion |
| Mid-Market | 30-40% | $50–$300 | 4-6 weeks | Growing (recycled) | Product elevation |
| Value/Fast | 40-50% volume | $10–$50 | 2 weeks | Low-Medium (circular) | Resale integration |
Role of Independent Trend Forecasters
Trends do not emerge in isolation; they rise from the cultural undercurrents of society. Every trend originates in the cultural zeitgeist - the collective ideas, emotions, and values of a specific time period. This includes influences from art, music, politics, societal values, technological shifts, environmental concerns, and public mood.
Trend forecasters and designers study these signals and combine them with business data such as purchase behavior, search trends, social media conversations, and market indicators. The result is a set of insights and reports that guide design and production decisions. Major fashion brands and houses across the world invest heavily in these forecasts. Trend forecasters play a critical role in the Introduction stage of the fashion life cycle.
Role of Big Fashion Houses
Big fashion houses interpret insights from trend forecasters and translate them into collections. Houses such as Burberry or Prada lead the industry by presenting innovative designs on global runways, often collaborating with renowned designers, stylists, and artists to merge high-concept ideas with luxury execution.
Their influence extends beyond design creation. These houses fund trend agencies, collaborate with celebrities, and license designs, creating a powerful halo effect that allows ideas to flow down the fashion pyramid. Big fashion houses are key drivers of the Introduction and Rise stages of the trend life cycle.
Role of Big Brands
Big brands operationalize these creative visions at scale, transforming runway concepts into consumer-ready products. Luxury brands focus on storytelling, craftsmanship, and brand heritage to build long-term loyalty, while fast-fashion giants such as Inditex (Zara’s parent company) excel in speed—replicating trends within weeks using data-led merchandising.
This dual structure with luxury driving aspiration and mass fashion driving volume, accounts for nearly 80% of global fashion industry revenue. Big brands are the primary drivers of the Rise and Peak stages of the fashion trend life cycle.
Role of Big Manufacturers
Manufacturers are the backbone of the fashion industry, bridging creative intent with large-scale production. The manufacturing process typically unfolds across seven stages: ideation, sourcing (fabrics from mills in countries such as India or China), production (bulk assembly in factories across Bangladesh or Vietnam), logistics (with sea freight accounting for nearly 70% of volume), warehousing, retail distribution, and consumer feedback loops.
Large manufacturers leverage economies of scale to achieve 50–60% cost reductions, while navigating ethical challenges related to labor standards, water usage, and carbon emissions. Emerging technologies such as robotic sewing, blockchain-based traceability, and IoT-enabled monitoring are increasingly adopted to meet ESG requirements. Manufacturers play a crucial role during the Peak stage of a fashion trend.
Role of Celebrities, Big Stars, and Influencers
No discussion of fashion’s momentum is complete without the influence of celebrities and digital creators. They accelerate trends from the Introduction to the Peak stage, often triggering explosive demand. A single red-carpet appearance can increase sales by 200–400%.
Influencers, empowered by TikTok and Instagram algorithms, amplify trends and support both trickle-down (luxury to mass) and trickle-up (streetwear to couture) dynamics. Today, social media creators have democratized trend discovery, with nearly 70% of Gen Z encountering new fashion trends first on Instagram or TikTok in record time.
Impact of Social Media and Technology
Social media has connected people at unprecedented scale and speed, fundamentally reshaping social behavior and democratizing access to fashion. Alongside AI, it has compressed fashion cycles from years into months—or even weeks.
In today’s hyper-connected world, what once took decades can now unfold almost instantly, driven by algorithmic amplification on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. While this benefits agile brands, it also intensifies overproduction and waste in fast fashion, increasing the urgency for sustainable practices such as circular design and extended product lifecycles.
Global vs. Local Fashion Trends (Indian Context)
Fashion, as a reflection of cultural evolution, constantly balances preservation and innovation. In today’s interconnected world shaped by social media, diaspora influence, and sustainability traditional styles in India and across Asia are not just coexisting with global trends; they are actively reshaping them.
In India, regional traditions such as Banarasi sarees from Uttar Pradesh or Kanjeevaram silks from Tamil Nadu merge seamlessly with global aesthetics to create Indo-Western fusion. Everyday wear such as cotton kurtas or salwar kameez are now styled with slim-fit trousers, crop tops, or minimalist accessories for work and casual settings.
Similar movements are visible across Asia. In China, imperial motifs appear on oversized hoodies; in Japan, kimonos pair with denim for urban looks; in Korea, hanboks are reimagined as modern festival wear. Amplified by K-pop and social media, this fusion fuels a growing sense of “Made in Asia” pride within global fashion.
This table illustrates the spectrum and highlights how local identity continues to inspire global innovation.
| Country | Traditional Element | Modern Fusion Example | Global Trend Integration |
| India | Saree/Kurta | Pre-stitched saree with crop top; kurta-palazzo sets | Streetwear prints; sustainable handlooms |
| China | Cheongsam/Hanfu | Qipao-hoodie hybrids; Imperial motifs on sneakers | Hip-hop collabs (Adidas); genderless streetwear |
| Korea | Hanbok | Short pleated skirts; office robes | K-pop runways; cartoon influences |
| Japan | Kimono | Denim overlays; obi belts as accessories | Harajuku minimalism; urban tailoring |
| Thailand | Chut Thai | Silk fisherman pants; ikat weaves in casuals | Luxury eco-twists (Jim Thompson) |
What’s Next?
Understanding these fundamentals—and how the different pieces of the fashion industry fit together—helps emerging brands like M.I.H.A.M.I define their strategy and position themselves correctly within this approximately $2.5 trillion global industry.
In the coming weeks, we will analyse key 2026 fashion trends and categorise them across different stages of the trend life cycle. Stay tuned!