lery in the remaining weeks we were surrounded by wonderfully crafted prototypes
and large fashion photographs that reminded us that the step “up there” could be
crafted with our own hands.
The work model of VakkoVamps can still be employed as an open interface and a
pool of resources to trigger further inspirational collaborations. More importantly,
it might also frame a complementary mode of work or a new designer role for
fashion designers and expose a practice situated where the borders between profes-
sionals and amateurs are perforated by many new passages. VakkoVamps could be
seen as a small step towards a complementary mode of fashion, in which profes-
sional amateurs are given more room in the design and production of fashion.
pro-am engagement
We have already explored engagement, mainly among amateurs, using redesign as
a hacktivist method, but as exemplified in the case of VakkoVamps there is also the
possibility of forming interfaces between the established system and the hacktiv-
ists, that is between the professionals and the amateurs, those inside and those
outside. Many would think this is a deterioration of skills, as one usually thinks of
amateur as a dilettante or a dabbler but this is to neglect the original meaning of
the term, that of a passionate lover.
One can see that such collaborations already exist in fashion. Trend forecasters
have their scouts and “spotters” out, exclusive vintage fashion stores have specially
hired “pickers” searching the second-hand markets for treasures and of course
large groups of “coolhunters”, focus groups and bloggers. But are they really ex-
changing skills and cooperating, or are these amateurs just underpaid “sensors” of
the system, who perhaps even have their ideas stolen? Of course their opinions
matter, and they can change a lot by finding the right new trend, but do they get
access to the system, and can they make “real” contributions, make a real difference
and be accepted for their connoisseurship? There are nowadays many examples of
bloggers reaching elevated positions in the system, but they are rarely as accepted
as, for example, the editors of the conventional printed magazines, which of course
have many reasons.
&
To better understand the relation between professionals and amateurs we must ask
if there are any examples of where amateurs make “real” contributions to specific
fields of knowledge and expertise, even in a hard science such as astronomy. Look-
ing at amateur astronomy can give a clue, because there much has happened dur-
ing the last decades where professionals and amateurs have come to lift their coop-
eration to new levels. A detour into that field might help us see things differently
and give us a clue of how collaborations between professionals and amateurs in
fashion can be evolved.
In many fields of hobby inventions and knowledge production the clear distinction
between professional and amateur has dissolved slightly and a new role has emerged
in between these positions – that of the “Pro-Am”, the professional amateur. Pro-
Ams, Charles Leadbeater and Paul Miller note in their book The Pro-Am Revolu-
tion, are ”innovative, committed and networked amateurs working to professional
standards” (Leadbeater & Miller 2004: 9). They are not the usual type of fans or
dabbling amateurs, but serious and committed quasi-professionals, a group grow-
ing larger by the day.