Anyone who has ever seen any work by a trend prediction agency will know that industry is a bit voodoo. They cover every base, just like astrologers do; read any star sign and they all work. It’s the same with trend prediction. There are always variations on the following trends: a techno trend, a sporty trend, a craft trend and an eco trend. Thinking this could be a gross misrepresentation, we checked with some trend-predicting folk we knew and they totally backed this argument. What’s really annoying is that fashion designers, fashion editors, and probably your best crop top-wearing fashion mate and the best photo blogs, can all predict what will be on sale in New Look next year with some accuracy. But big companies stick with the trend predictors, finding safety in corporate speak. So I hooked up with clairvoyant and psychic John Starkey thinking maybe he’d be just as right about the future of fashion. Starkey, who admits he knows nothing about fashion, says he received his insight into style clairvoyantly through a man called Raymonde.

John Starkey

Vice: So what do you predict designers will be showing this month at London fashion week’s spring/summer 2010 shows?
John Starkey/Raymonde: Mediterranean and minimalist lines and the use of translucent fabrics will be in. At the higher end of the market, the pre-Raphaelite look is set to prevail, with silks and linens and lots of draping.

And where is fashion heading from there? Can you tell me what’s going to be hot?
I see a fashion revolution, with the London fashion houses giving Paris a real run for its money. Some of the newer designers will introduce some very surreal ideas. Look out for an amazing guy from the east whose first name begins with the letter S – he has an incredible eye for linking [the] east and west through fashion. Also, keep your eye out for a boy wonder from London’s East End, who has recently visited Japan and will prove to be the most exciting wild card in the fashion world for quite some time.

What about Gareth Pugh?
Having established such a great eye for straight lines and chequered patterns, this man could be at pinnacle of fashion forever. Don’t people realise that he invents his own fashion?

And Anna Wintour? Surely she’ll get her just desserts soon?

Never! She’s a determined lady who has discovered the key to success in a media circus that others find difficult to understand. Long live Anna Wintour!

Okay. Is there any other trend you might predict for next summer so I can get the look before everyone else?
There’s a major revolution in rebelliousness coming in the music business and hair is gonna become longer and wilder and clothing is gonna grow curvier.

For more information on John Starkey, or to book a reading, visit www.john-starkey.com

WORDS: ERICA CROMPTON