Open-Source Philosophy in Fashion Design: Contesting Authorship Conventions and Professionalism

This paper investigates open-source fashion approach as a design philosophy and a phenomenon that demonstrates an alternative to the concept of authorship of fashion designers. We argue that the concept contests traditional professionalism in fashion design in today’s digitalized, data-driven culture. Investigating open-source philosophy in fashion design as a dimension of professional fashion designers’ authorship, the paper presents three case studies with different ways of applying open-source principles to existing fashion design practices. The article builds on multiple-case-study research conducted during 2018–2019. The case studies were analyzed from the perspective of authorship and professionalism. We ask whether, how, why and to what end fashion designers contest the authorial and professional conventions of fashion design. Secondly, we analyze the role of technology in such questioning.