La collusion de couleurs - an unfashionable question?

I was quite interested in clothing fashion at one point when I was 18ish. So much so that I learned to sew and won an amateur fashion show with 4 evening dresses modelled by some friends. I liked the art of it, the balance between design and functionality, the way people feel when they wear something they enjoy. It was not my thing though sewing is a skill I wish I had maintained.

One question I have always had is: Why are there seasonal fashion colours? This seems quite a silly question and perhaps a very simple answer exists yet I am not sure that even if there is a formal explanation, I am ready to swallow it blindly.

Like I mentioned, I liked the art of it. Have you ever seen or met fashion designers? Would you say that on average, they look to fit into the box of normal or compared to the personality norms, you may well assume that they are generally a little more flamboyant than the average Joe. They are artists and are often strongly individual in their quest to stand out from the crowd and differentiate themselves.

In art there are periods of style where artists borrow techniques and compositional styles from other artists as well as cultural influences. These periods are quite long spanning many decades at times. In fashion, even though they will get inspiration from many sources including past and present designers, with creative types looking to push the avant garde edge, there shouldn't be such definitive consensus on design, material and colour. Especially if the cycle is every 3 month season.

I don't see how it is possible for design houses to choose colours, fabrics, lengths, cuts, styles with near global uniformity. I know many design houses create multiple brands and there is plenty of low price fashion imitators that provide similar for less but still. Every 3 months?

With the design of houses, cars, tech and many other industries, there is a slow and progressive pathway and refinement that can be traced almost like evolution. Fashion on the other hand jumps backwards and forwards through time periods, mixes and matches fabrics and has a large supply of designers creating for a very short lifecycle. It aksonhas very little technical evolution outside of the manufacturing process.

I envisage that the conformity is dependant on the material suppliers. I assume that much of the raw materials (and production) are handled in Asia. I imagine some guy in a dark room doing inventory while smoking a cigarette and realising there is a large amount of fabric A, B and C. He calls the dye factory and they inform that there is a huge amount of green pigment and based on this, it is settled. The Spring colour for 2017 is green. The design houses are then called and notified that there is a supply of several green shades across materials A, B and C. They can buy these in price range x. If they want other colours or materials, the significantly higher price range y and z are applied. Since these fashion houses are businesses, not niche artisans crafting their wares, the choice is simple.

This doesn't explain though why one Winter all brands chose bootleg jeans, Spring brought halter necks and the Summer saw the en masse return of ripped shorts. It could be that they have unseen industry shows where decisions are made but this would amount to collusion. Although not price fixing, maybe just as serious. Imagine it across other industries such as pharma or tech and the possible implications associated.

There are a few other theories I have on it but none seem completely plausible such as a supreme fashion overlord (perhaps a division of the illuminati or hydra) that has the power to dictate or control the minds of designers. Maybe it is just dumb luck.

Hopefully, there is someone here that already knows and can shine a lighy or can think laterally and add more realistic explanations.

Caveat: I don't speak French.

Taraz
[a Steemit original]