3D printing: fashion industry implications

Last week, I had the pleasure of joining a really varied group of FashionTech specialists as a Speaker at Interlaced.

http://2015.interlaced.co/

I find the term 'FashionTech' extremely vague - and in many ways, am frustrated by the generality that many people attribute to this huge area of industry. From buying habits through to production methodology, there is SO MUCH content under the 'FashionTech' umbrella that I still have to understand - but for now, I stuck to what I knew and moderated a panel about how 3D printing is effecting fashion (via accessories and footwear).

I was joined by three speakers that I've worked with a lot before via my role at 3D Printshow: Roberta Luka from Wonderluk, Bryan Oknyansky from ShoesByBryan and Nikolay Piriankiv from Rare Pink. See below for my introductory notes:

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"Welcome everyone, and thank you for joining us at Interlaced today. There’s been some really varied content across today’s brilliant agenda – and although it’s been mentioned a few times, we’re here to get stuck into exploring how 3D printing technology is already being used in the fashion industry.

My name is Faith Robinson, and I‘m the Content Curator at an international tech exhibition called 3D Printshow. I’ve been working in the heart of the global 3D printing scene for over two years, and my role involves collecting and curating some of the best content for our series of temporary exhibitions and conference agendas around the world. In particular, I’ve produced catwalk productions of 3D printed fashion, exhibitions of stunning 3D printed garments, as well as numerous agendas exploring the tech across all kinds of sectors. As a result, I’m delighted to be moderating this session, so let’s crack on.

Particularly within the jewellery and footwear space, 3D printing is not only being employed to actually manufacture products, but (perhaps more importantly), it’s being used to engage the customer by heightening their buying experience. Since this leads to more spend, it’s a very exciting – and relevant – part of contemporary fashion tech right now."