A Taste Of Tomorrow

Influential Trend Forecaster Cécile Poignant on the Lifestyle Factors That Will Shape the Hospitality and Travel Industry

- Dianne Sibal

Trend forecasting, surprisingly, is a practice that has been around for at least half a century. It started in the late 1960s during the rise of the ready-to-wear industry in France, when designers and fabric makers were looking to predict the next trend in fashion.

These days, clues pointing to the next big thing (not just in fashion, but any other industry) are easily found on the Internet, but the deluge of information online can be overwhelming for some. This is where the insights, wisdom, and experience of people like Cecile Poignant come in handy.

Cecile, founder and editor of online curator Trend Tablet, is a modern anthropologist who wades through the noise of society to find the signals that could dictate the next big lifestyle trend of tomorrow. “I connect the dots and try to see patterns that you don’t usually notice at first glance,” she explains. “I look at everything—consumer behaviours, industry shifts, current events, the media, music, movies, art. Even what my friends like or don’t like, choose or not choose to eat, drink, buy in their daily lives.”

TECH TALK