4 ms·

Fashion, a design-heavy field, is effectively open source. You like the Armani jacket? You can make one just like it or copy elements you like (without the bran

Fashion, a design-heavy field, is effectively open source. You like the Armani jacket? You can make one just like it or copy elements you like (without the branding, of course). The industry innovates pretty quickly too, as your theory predicts.

bch 11y ago
This is very interesting and Johanna Blakley has an excellent talk to fashion and other aspects of ideas and products vis a vis patent protection. - https://www.ted.com/talks/johanna_blakley_lessons_from_fashion_s_free_culture https://www.ted.com/talks/johanna_blakley_lessons_from_fashi...
- hackuser 11y ago
  That's actually where I learned about it. I'll second your recommendation: She knows her stuff and is very insightful; don't miss it if you are interested in these issues. Do you know anything about the speaker (besides what it says at that link)?
  - bch 11y ago
    Hi. She's (was?) the director of the Norman Lear Center[0], but that's about it. [0] http://learcenter.org/about/ http://learcenter.org/about/
rayiner 11y ago
Is there any innovation in the fashion industry? Or just . . . changing fashion?
- hackuser 11y ago
  I know very little about fashion msyelf, but let's be careful not dismiss advances in a field simply because many people here have no interest in it.
  - rayiner 11y ago
    Let's also be careful not to overuse "innovate" until it has no meaning. Fashion changes a lot but that does not mean it's advancing.
- Kalium 11y ago
  There are some cyclic elements, but there's also a lot more to it. New fabrics are developed, new blends, old fabrics are used to construct new garments, new colors, and new combinations of all of the above things. Sometimes it's exploring old fashions with modern techniques for making things. Textile and garment-construction technology have changed a lot in the past couple hundred years.
SilasX 11y ago
... not really. Fashion is ultimately, "hey, high-status person X says to wear Y now! If you play along, you'll get some of his/her magic!" Innovation needs to be positive-sum to be worthy of the name. That isn't.

bch 11y ago

This is very interesting and Johanna Blakley has an excellent talk to fashion and other aspects of ideas and products vis a vis patent protection. - https://www.ted.com/talks/johanna_blakley_lessons_from_fashion_s_free_culture https://www.ted.com/talks/johanna_blakley_lessons_from_fashi...

hackuser 11y ago
That's actually where I learned about it. I'll second your recommendation: She knows her stuff and is very insightful; don't miss it if you are interested in these issues. Do you know anything about the speaker (besides what it says at that link)?
- bch 11y ago
  Hi. She's (was?) the director of the Norman Lear Center[0], but that's about it. [0] http://learcenter.org/about/ http://learcenter.org/about/

rayiner 11y ago

Is there any innovation in the fashion industry? Or just . . . changing fashion?

hackuser 11y ago
I know very little about fashion msyelf, but let's be careful not dismiss advances in a field simply because many people here have no interest in it.
- rayiner 11y ago
  Let's also be careful not to overuse "innovate" until it has no meaning. Fashion changes a lot but that does not mean it's advancing.
Kalium 11y ago
There are some cyclic elements, but there's also a lot more to it. New fabrics are developed, new blends, old fabrics are used to construct new garments, new colors, and new combinations of all of the above things. Sometimes it's exploring old fashions with modern techniques for making things. Textile and garment-construction technology have changed a lot in the past couple hundred years.

SilasX 11y ago

... not really. Fashion is ultimately, "hey, high-status person X says to wear Y now! If you play along, you'll get some of his/her magic!" Innovation needs to be positive-sum to be worthy of the name. That isn't.