Just a quick trip to the mall or local grocery store and you will see them. In fact, this year, they can be seen just everywhere, and they are signaling the final phase of a trend that started in the early 2000’s.
The “they” I’m talking about is the late adopters to the Uggs boots fashion trend. They are typically middle aged (and older) women who are finally embracing the trend, which has reached a comfortable level of social acceptance and proliferation.
I predict that by this time next year, these boots will have taken a sharp decline. This means that all the copycat brands that have, in recent months, started producing their own take on the Ugg style, hoping to cash in on the trend, will be forced to find another trend to ripoff. And it also means that the Uggs brand, should be searching for their next hook of relevance.
The art of spotting trends early and take action, as I’ve covered before, is a vital part of putting your company ahead of the competition. But the ability to spot the death of a trend can be just as valuable, because an accurate and early recognition of a trend that’s reaching it’s peak, can provide a time table for strategic planning and action.
How many chapters are in your brand’s story?
Sometimes I think the death happens as soon as someone attaches the word “trend” to the trend. These days though, you can wait 20 years (or less) and see it flip back around. I call this a “boomerang”. Some of them don’t do very well the second time. The process seems ridiculous but it does help fuel creativity to some degree. Someone has to dream up something a little different to keep it fresh. And some will eventually rip that off. I think those boots have been around in way shape or form for a very long time. 🙂
wow.i have never see the ugg boots weard by a old man, it’s something impossible…
haha You predicted wrong. Take a stroll through any Nordstroms. The women (ages 10-50) are flocking to the Uggly boots “like the salmon of Capistrano.”