Marc Worth, a revolutionary pioneer in the trend forecasting industry and founder of leading trends and insights businesses WGSN and Stylus Media Group, died in London on 13 January 2023, aged 61.
Alongside his brother Julian, Marc Worth established WGSN (Worth Global Styling Network) in 1998, which went on to revolutionise the trend forecasting industry. Evolving into one of the world’s leading consumer trend forecasting platforms, WGSN’s online space curates industry analysis and data for global brands who operate within the fashion, retail, hospitality, beauty, wellness, lifestyle, consumer electronics, interiors, and food and drink industries. Bringing together fashion forecasts, catwalk analysis, retail intelligence, seasonal trends and key items, the online site also boasts an extensive database of inspirational images.
In creating WGSN, Worth brought together over 20 years of forecasting experience and over 400 industry experts and packaged it into an accessible and easily applicable product. Allowing their over 6500 clients to “make confident decisions, adapt and stay ahead of an ever-changing consumer landscape”.
Worth subsequently sold WGSN to Emap (now known as Ascential, a data and e-commerce optimization company) in 2005 and went onto establish Stylus – a future trends and industry insight platform – in 2010. A business which he led as CEO, before transitioning in April 2022 to the role of Executive Chairman.
Victoria Rennie, CEO of Stylus said: “Everyone at Stylus is completely shocked by this tragic news. Marc was an indomitable presence whose passion and humour will leave an indelible mark on our business and the industry for years to come. Many of us at Stylus have worked with Marc for decades and his loss will be felt sorely.”
Having been in the clothing business for over 30 years, Worth took the decision to revive the now infamous Ossie Clark label, which was once a mainstay on the King’s Road and hit its peak in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with a £3 million cash investment and a three-year plan for global domination. As part of this project the label also showed as part of the London Fashion Week schedule in 2008.
Worth considered it an exciting challenge at the time, with the end of the first decade of the 2000s the perfect time to relaunch the vintage label. Bringing on board Donna Karan and Roberto Cavalli alum Avshalom Gur to head the design team, there was also an exclusive licensing deal with clothing manufacturer Alfred Radley, who had purchased the label in the late 1960s and had collated a meticulous archive of 700 original Ossie Clark pieces. Worth’s plan was to create a stable of brands, but the project was shuttered following the recession in 2008.
Expanding his extensive career in entrepreneurship, Worth was an avid investor and mentor in the businesses by young creatives from a diverse range of backgrounds, while also serving as the Chairman for both UK Israel Business (UKIB) and Israel’s Shenkar College Board of Governors. He was also a Trustee of The Tel Aviv Foundation and the Chairman of TLVinLDN. Worth is survived is by his wife Kelly, and his former wife Hilda, who is the mother of his children Patti, Max, Henry, and Louis.
