Another Copyright & Patents War Brewing?
Most countries worldwide are well aware of the “home-brewed” alcoholic beverages market taking a big bite out of huge companies like Budweiser. Budweiser’s recent move to change its name to “America” is a valiant attempt to make its beer sound home-brewed. But there is something about making things in small batches with great care that will forever have a place in markets wherever they are.
Open Source Desktop 3D Knitting Machinery?
Now the emergence of open source 3D knitting machinery is going to do the same thing in the apparel market. Much has recently been made of sudden huge sales of apparel by “sudden shooting stars” whose new clothing lines have caught a wave on the internet. This has thrown the “big guys” off balance. How dare some nobody working in her little studio in a backwater city have a big apparel hit. But the availability of 3D knitting machinery is going to rewrite the apparel industry in a more profound way, making life even more difficult for the fashion industry.
First, open source designs are likely to be free or extremely cheap. Once a 3D knitting machine owner downloads a clothing design (s)he just needs to choose the material and presto, a new pair of slacks, a dress, etc. No going to a clothing store and no waiting for an Amazon delivery which might take, horrors, 2 or 3 days!
Some of the early pioneers of open source 3D knitting include fashion designers Robis Seidran Koopmans and Susan Spencer who have been perfecting open source 3D pattern drafting software and techniques that all of us will one day use. At the same time, a company called Techpacker has aligned itself with apparel experts and professors around the globe, creating a huge apparel open source design library. The library includes drawings, sewing, and seam diagrams, point of measurement diagrams, and related clothing materials including labels, buttons, and more.
The following video shows Susan Spencer “Remaking the Garment Industry”.
