The Queen of Cool

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It doesn't matter that the rest of the world isn't yet aware of Hahn's ultracool new trend. In fact, it's probably a good sign. The business of determining hip is an edgy one, requiring an open mind, a high degree of confidence, and a keen set of antennae. Hahn, now 40ish, has been sharpening her forecasting skills for 14 years, first as an art student, then in retail at Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Selfridges, among others. Before founding Bureau de Style, she was creative marketing director for Promostyl USA, a Paris-based trend-forecasting agency. "I have a hard time with people who think trending is all about sitting in cafés and watching the world go by," she says. "People who are good at this business are not simply voyeurs. We are people who live the hip life, people who participate as well as observe."

Just what is this trending? The way Hahn sees it, she's facilitating the natural "trickle up" of trendsówhere versions of the music, activities, and fashions percolating in art galleries, on skateboards, in nightclubs, and in coffee shops eventually make their way to corporate boardrooms around the world. "I'm an interpreter," she says. "I'm hired to explain what all the pieces mean when you put them together. This is something that happens naturallyóto a degreeóbut people like me, we turn it all around much more quickly."

During the company's four-year history, Hahn and Bureau de Style have been hired to scout and interpret trends for "all of the big names," including Samsung, Fila, Adidas, Nike, Converse, Sears, the government of Thailand, and many American movie studios. A client in the fashion business, for instance, may request a dossier on what will be the hottest new colorsótwo years from now. Hahn and her 22 employees gather this information by reading newspapers, visiting art galleries, walking the streets, watching the newsóand then piecing the small bits of information they gather into one larger trend or set of trends.

But how can what Hahn reads in the newspaper help her predict what color will be featured on Paris runways in the year 2000? It's all connected, she explains. World events affect how we feel, how we feel affects the art we create, the art we create affects the type of clothes we wear, and on and on. "The human animal is predictable," she says. "Colors act as symbols of the larger culture. If we are in a prosperous spirit, then we wear bright, happy colors. During the Reagan era, a time of prosperity for many, the colors were simple, bright, patriotic, and flaglike: reds, blues."

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