It’s not something that is new in the market, 3D printing has been rapidly picking up in
the fashion industry. It is useful during the creative process, for prototyping or even for
production. 3D printing in fashion is more commonly known as additive manufacturing.
It has the potential to move us away from the era of mass production and bring us to a
new reality of customisable, one-off production. 3D printing or additive manufacturing is
the broader term for tool-less manufacturing methods which enables manufacturing of
components from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to conventional
manufacturing methodologies. The use of 3D printing is endless, it can create anything
from instruments and toys to robots and mechanical parts.
3D printing or rapid prototyping has been used to create models for decades by
architects and scientists. It is being used to create 3D printed building models, this
revolutionary technology is also used to make bionic limbs, organs, hearing aids, blood
vessels, casts etc. As its application is not limited to certain industry, fashion is no
exception.
In recent times designers have started experimenting which enables them to create new
& unique art and fashion. Now a designer can produce designs that are complicated,
even impossible, to manufacture and this inevitably fuels their innovation and creativity.
This process is not only simpler to materialise but also in case, if a designer makes a
mistake or fails with 3D printing design, they can easily start again.
Here in India ‘Trikolaa Tech’ has collaborated with fashion designer ‘Ayushi Kothari’
for her collection named ‘PURE’ for the JD Annual Design Awards 2018 Bangalore, India.
After winning an award for her collection, she was invited to showcase her collection in
IGFS International Fashion Spectacle 2018, Sri-Lanka. Her project has dresses which
uses various styled 3D printed panels which were later stitched onto the fabric, giving it
a unique look. Trikolaa has also designed a ‘Glow in the Dark’ 3D printed dress panel
for another fashion designer ‘Pranali Shah’ which was a major success in the industry.
Giving us the boost to research more in fashion.
To talk about recent success of 3D printing in the fashion industry, which have got
considerably media coverage, have been the work showcased by Francis Bitonti &
Michael Schmidt and Iris van Herpen at Paris Fashion Week.
Architect Francis Bitonti and fashion designer Michael Schmidt collaborated to make
a dress for burlesque diva Dita Von Teese. She wore the garment to the Ace Hotel in
March for a convention hosted by online 3D printing marketplace, Shapeways. The dress
consisted of 2,500 intersecting joint pieces that were linked together by hand. The
finishing touches included a black lacquer coating and 12,000 hand-placed Swarovski
crystals reflecting Schmidt's iconic glam that attracts a clientele including Madonna,
Rihanna and Lady Gaga.
Similarly, Dutch designer Iris van Herpen unveiled 3D printing collaborations on the
catwalks of Paris Fashion Week with a leading manufacturer of 3D printers for
prototyping and manufacturing and a pioneer in additive manufacturing solutions
British designer Catherine Wales is making moves, too. She is best known for her Project
DNA collection, which includes avant-garde 3D printed masks, accessories and apparel,
all printed with white nylon. The eccentric shapes of her garments reflect that 3D printed
clothing is still in its early stages. Today, the materials and technologies used for 3D
printing still dictate and affect garment design. But the technologies that fuel 3D printing
continue to grow, and its limitations continue to diminish.