FURTHER RESEARCH - Open Source Fashion Design

This week I thought I would look into open-source fashion design, and see what I could find. Fashion is an inherently competitive industry, so it wasn't too much of a surprise to find that there wasn't very much available online. It is worth noting that it wasn't always this way. Before fashion design and manufacturing was taken largely off-shore, the design of clothing was far more egalitarian, and pattern making and sewing were common place in the home.

One company that I saw doing open-source fashion design quite well is Burda. I remember seeing Burda patterns available to buy at spotlight when I was younger, so I recognized the name. This company began as a magazine publisher in the late 1800's, and started selling pattern making and home sewing magazine in 1949. I would imagine that in the 1990's pattern making and home sewing may have begin to decline as manufacturing was taken off-shore and "fast fashion" was born, and a lot of pattern making businesses must have taken a hit. In 2007 Burda had the clever idea of starting an online pattern selling business, and has been going strong ever since. The website has an interactive element to it, with blogs, podcasts, online sewing courses and free downloadable patterns. I like how they have managed to evolve with the times, and continue to keep the community in fashion design - 68 years later!

I also came across Martijn Van Strien's "Open Source Fashion Manifesto" which was a very interesting read. Van Strien is one of the creators of the Post Couture Collective and is a very inspiring human, with a very avant-garde design aesthetic and progressive views on the fashion industry. The manifesto is short and to the point, but addresses the problems with the current paradigm in the industry and asks for change from every level- designer, manufacturer and consumer alike. I will be keeping a close eye on this designer as I feel that they have some very thought provoking ideas.