Austin Market Review
At the start of each season, our design team hits the market to gather inspiration and competitive insights. For Spring 2024, I traveled to Austin to explore emerging trends in activewear—diving into fabrication innovations, color direction, silhouette shifts, and retail presentation. This trip informed early concepting and helped shape our seasonal strategy with firsthand observations and creative stimulus.
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As part of our seasonal design process, the team traveled to Austin to conduct in-person market research. The goal was to gather inspiration across fabrication, silhouette, color, and branding, while analyzing how activewear competitors were showing up in-store.
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I led trend documentation and retail audits across key Austin neighborhoods, capturing insights through photography and compiling them into a visual report that highlighted emerging materials, merchandising strategies, and competitive gaps. I also helped shape the research itinerary—curating a mix of stores for inspiration and analysis—and, as a local expert, guided the team to culturally rich areas for people-watching, trails, and sporting events to better understand the lifestyle driving the activewear market.
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The insights gathered in Austin directly informed our early concept direction, influencing color palette decisions and material sourcing conversations. My trend reporting helped the team align on innovation opportunities and shape a more relevant, forward-looking seasonal assortment.
