The Fashion Design Council of India, the apex body of the Indian fashion design industry, and KPMG have joined hands to set up a "fashion fund" to promote the sector.

Vinod Kaul, executive director, FDCI, said: "We are setting up this fund not only to promote the fashion industry but also to fund projects such as 'trend forecasting', setting up of a resource centre for the industry (a web-enabled archive) and many more fashion industry-related projects on an ongoing basis."

The fund, likely to be set up within the next six months, is expected to have a corpus of around Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) even though it may start with a small amount of Rs 2-3 crore (Rs 20-30 million).

FDCI and KPMG have already initiated talks with corporates such as Raymonds and Sawrovski, and many other fashion industry players, which include companies in garment exports.

According to Kaul, some of these companies whom they have approached have agreed in principle to be a part of the fashion fund.

The FDCI-KPMG alliance, as apart of their study on the growth strategies for the Indian fashion industry, has identified trend forecasting as one of the key enablers for growth of the industry in India.

"Though trend forecasting is little unknown outside the industry, it is a critical factor worldwide in determining the season's trends, allowing designers, manufacturers and retailers to better understand and predict consumers' buying preferences' in the coming two-three seasons," said Kaul.

Globally, agencies such as Promostyl publishes international trend forecasts taking into account global macroeconomic factors such as recessions, boom times, overall consumer sentiment as well as direct inputs from textile manufacturers on development in fabrics and yarns, designers for inspirational designs and retailers, and consumer surveys on consumer preferences.

These factors are collectively analysed to arrive at various trends.