In preparation for this discussion, review the video Merchants of Cool. You can also view a captioned version of the Merchants of Cool video.

In this video, students learned that the customer is the center of the universe in the fashion world. Or, as Yves St. Laurent said, “The couturier does not create fashion, he interprets it.”

Some have said that a fashion forecaster knows what customers want before they know what they want. Is this possible? Discuss.

What are the important steps that a fashion forecaster must take to know what kind of product a customer wants?