Abstract

"Co-Creation of Fashion: The Pattern-Making Industry and Participatory Fashion Design"

Greta Keiper-Blake, Misericordia University (gblake@misericordia.edu)

This paper challenges the notion of co-creation's "newness" in fashion, demonstrating that the conceptual elements of participatory design, access, and empowerment can be traced back to business innovations in the patternmaking and publishing industries after 1870. In 1979, economic historian Margaret Walsh suggested that the invention of paper patterns democratized fashion. This paper argues that paper patterns, as they evolved through the late 1800s and early 1900s, introduced an early form of participatory design and access; thus, patterns not only democratized fashion but also enabled home sewists to become co-creators of fashion apparel. The ability to replicate, adapt, and personalize garments allowed women in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era to express themselves through their selection of fit, fabric, and finishes. The intertwined nature of publishing and patternmaking in women's magazines — especially Demorest's, The Delineator (published by Butterick Publications), and McCall's — in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was foundational. Manufacturer-supported social sewing groups enabled women, particularly in rural areas of the United States, to share progress and collaborate to enhance their skills. By applying Prahalad and Ramaswamy's DART (Dialogue, Access, Risk-Benefit, Transparency) co-creation framework to the study of historical patterns, sewing groups, and fashion publications, this paper intervenes in the prevailing literature on co-creation in business and fashion. The act of modifying and constructing garments fostered a new era of self-expression in dress in the Gilded Age and Progressive Eras, blurring the lines of creative ownership and redefining the nature of authorship in fashion long before the Internet and social media made co-creation commonplace.