Is the future of fashion 3D printed?
For its potential to increase efficiency, cut costs and spark bold new innovations, 3D printing has been described as nothing short of a new industrial revolution in design and manufacturing. The fashion industry is no exception to this trend, and in recent years more designers and manufacturers have begun to experiment with the creative possibilities opened up by 3D technology in prototyping, design and production. Over the last decade especially, 3D printing technology has become more accessible, allowing for daring new creative experimentations on and off the runway, and opening the door for exciting new possibilities for individual customisation and sustainability in fashion.
Printing the future
The first 3D printed fashion piece, “Crystallization”, was sent down the runway in 2010 by Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen. Since the debut of that piece, Van Herpen has continued to pioneer the use of 3D printing in fashion, pushing the boundaries of the design possibilities enabled by additive manufacturing. ‘‘I find the process of 3D printing fascinating’ she says; ‘it’s such a different way of manufacturing, adding layer-by-layer, it can be a great inspiration for new ideas.’ In 2013, burlesque dancer and performer Dita Von Teese modelled the world’s first fully 3D printed dress, a collaboration between architect Francis Bitonti and designer Michael Schmidt. 3D printed entirely in nylon, the gown was assembled from 17 pieces which were then dyed black and adorned with over 13,000 Swarovski crystals to create a continuous flowing form.
Yet while 3D printing garments of this scale is by no means commonplace, designers are increasingly embracing the possibilities of using 3D technology to make aspects of their creations. Since 3D printing makes it possible to create shapes without moulds, it can significantly expand designers’ creative possibilities, such as producing embellishments of extreme intricacy that could not be made otherwise, or highly dense geometric shapes.
More excitingly, perhaps, while in its current form it is almost exclusively the domain of haute couture, as 3D technology becomes more affordable and widely available, it has the potential to be adopted by more manufacturers — even one day becoming available for personal use. When that happens, it could become as revolutionary as the sewing machine, with people able to design and 3D print clothes to their exact measurements at home.
What’s more, it’s considerably more environmentally friendly too. The fashion industry is one of the biggest contributors of environmental pollution, generating enormous amounts of waste and toxic by-products in the treatment and transportation of fabrics. 3D printing however, unlike conventional manufacturing methods, generates hardly any waste, as the process allows for the control of every single drop of material that goes into creating the final product. Rather than cutting shapes from larger pieces of material and discarding the rest, 3D printing uses only what is necessary, nothing more.
Challenges ahead
Yet despite these exciting horizons, many challenges remain. The most significant of these has to do with the materials and feasibility of wear of 3D printed clothes. Currently, 3D printed clothes simply cannot match up to the softness or breathability of traditional fabrics like cotton, for example. Because the technology involves fusing layers of melted plastic on top of one another, a 3D printed fabric does not behave like a woven textile, and cannot be draped or adapt its shape to fit different bodies. Indeed, the synthetic materials currently available for 3D printing, like polyactic acid, are not comfortable or breathable enough for most clothing items. Instead, industry experts predict a trend of “hybridization” in which 3D technology is incorporated with traditional fabrics and methods to create clothes that are wearable yet still benefit from the imaginative possibilities 3D opens up.
Yet until these breakthroughs are made, the most exciting places we’re seeing 3D printing put to use in commercially available fashion is footwear and accessories, such as eyewear and jewellery. Earlier this year, for example, Nike released the ‘Flyprint’ — the world’s first running shoes with 3D printed uppers, designed for elite marathon runners, while luxury 3D printing studio VOJD in Berlin produces bespoke jewellery for designers such as Alexander McQueen and LOEWE. In eyewear, London-based sustainable sunglasses brand Wires is innovating with 3D technology, producing frames produced from a single piece of wire and modular 3D printed rims. Brands like Wires Glasses exemplify exactly how designers are exploring 3D technology as part of a ‘hybrid’ model, incorporating different materials to create a product that fuses tradition and future, and one which offers something truly unique.
The future
While 3D printed fashion is most definitely in its infancy, early experimentations signal an exciting future ahead for 3D technology in fashion. We may still a long way off from 3D printing clothes at home, or adding our dimensions online for bespoke items to be printed in stores, but infinite possibilities lie in wait as more designers and manufacturers begin to adopt 3D methods.
For Wires founder and designer Yair Neuman, the beauty of 3D technology lies in its scope for improvisation and imagination. Wires Glasses itself was only created after he found himself in need of a pair of sunglasses for a holiday, and instead of buying a new pair he decided simply to create his own using materials he had on hand. Taking a piece of soft wire to create the frames and 3D printing the lens rims in his studio, he transferred a spontaneous design straight from his imagination into the world. ‘It’s art and science combined’ he says.
Until we are all able to print our wardrobes however, at least we can benefit from the imagination of 3D design pioneers like Neuman while we wait. For 3D printed fashion, these are exciting times indeed.
Browse Wires Glasses 2018 unisex collection here.
