Fashion Market Research Introduction
To prepare yourself to head out into the world of fashion design, you must first know a little more about the fashion industry itself. 
You might remember earlier in the course, we learned that a designer is always predicting fashion trends. This skill will be especially important when you are performing market and industry research, which is the next step you should take after making your fashion predictions.
Fashion market research is a crucial step in fashion design and one that you want to make sure that you do not skip. 
The reason why this is so important is that you are determining who is buying apparel and accessories in your target area. 
You will also take it one step further and find out who, why, and where customers are shopping.
Identifying and Defining Your Target Customer
Once you have followed all of the steps that you have learned in this module, including predicting trends and conducting market research, you should be able to identify and define your target customer.
With this knowledge, you can find what designs will work for where you live. Another great thing about this is it gives you a competitive edge in an already competitive industry.
When it comes to fashion, you might think it is all about designing clothes, but before you do, don’t forget to find out who your customer is.
To help you clearly define who your customer is, the following information will help you along the way:

Determine the needs of your customer
Know your buyer’s belief systems
Identify your customer’s buying habits, income, and profession