Color Trend Analysis using Machine Learning with Fashion Collection Images

Abstract

Fashion color trends are an essential marketing element that directly affect brand sales. Organizations such as Pantone have global authority over professional color standards by annually forecasting color palettes. However, the question remains whether fashion designers apply these colors in fashion shows that guide seasonal fashion trends. This study analyzed image data from fashion collections through machine learning to obtain measurable results by web-scraping catwalk images, separating body and clothing elements via machine learning, defining a selection of color chips using k-means algorithms, and analyzing the similarity between the Pantone color palette (16 colors) and the analysis color chips. The gap between the Pantone trends and the colors used in fashion collections were quantitatively analyzed and found to be significant. This study indicates the potential of machine learning within the fashion industry to guide production and suggests further research expand on other design variables.