3D print technology set to challenge the fashion industry
Fashion thrives on the constant threat of change. A seasonal trend
storms its way into the heart of the industry to be forgotten a few
months later – leaving behind a few stand-out pieces which will go on to
define a moment in culture. These classic, timeless or iconic
garments are loaded with importance; they might have been worn by a
celebrity, or perhaps referenced a culturally significant issue. Fashion
can be lusted after or cherished for many different reasons – yet
rarely is it remembered for how it was made. The way in which garments
are produced has not significantly changed for many years. From high
street to haute couture, the techniques used are often traditional and
their developments can be mapped out on a trajectory of textiles built
from the same starting points.
In the last few years however, a particularly disruptive new process has made its way into fashion studios around the world.
Computational design
involving 3D print technology looks set to challenge the fashion
industry through a series of contentious innovations. The question of
how the industry will integrate this pioneering process remains
critical.
3D printing allows for the manufacture of computationally designed
objects. The object’s design information, an impossibly detailed, three
dimensional CAD drawing, is sent to a machine, which translates the
design into a printable file. This machine either uses a nib to print
layer upon layer of molten plastic to create the object (like building
with layers of Lego), or alternatively melts grains of plastic together
with a laser to form the object (like building sandcastle). Although the
processes sounds complicated, 3D printing is remarkably accessible to a
broad range of industries. Its potential has increased recently,
finding new creative as well as industrial applications and capturing
the imaginations of progressive fashion designers around the world.
Although the pieces created range in a variety of textures and
aesthetics, due to the fixed nature of printing materials, a lot of 3D
printed fashion is stiff artefacts & accessories rather than
flexible garments. This kind of design is often referred to as
wearable art. Dorry Hsu’s collection
Aesthetic of Fears (image 1) illustrates the amazing level of intricacy that can be printed, whilst Pia Hinze’s
piece Neobaroque
(image 2) shows how 3D printing can allow for the production of shapes
which could not be made with any other method. Items like this aren’t
readily wearable, as their impractical rigidity and eccentric style make
for a very limited audience. This might explain why so far only the
most outlandish celebrities have taken to wearing 3D printing pieces. We
are still a long way off seeing this kind of fashion on the high
street.
An increasing number of luxury fashion brands however, are taking on the
wearability challenge of 3D print technology. Recently, Pringle of
Scotland’s A/W 14 collection saw 3D printed elements and embellishments
paired with their trademark knit.
The work of practicing textiles graduate
Laura Martinez (image 3) also illustrates this approach. Collaborating
with architect and material scientist Richard Beckett, Pringle of
Scotland’s collection illustrates the multidisciplinary nature of 3D
printing in fashion. Highlighting the increasingly apparent tensions
between computational production and hand-crafted design, new skill sets
are becoming necessary.
Traditional
methods of production such as tailoring or embellishment onto fabric
will always be used. They could be combined with contemporary, 3D
printing techniques; however many people working within this new field
insist that wearable technology can only progress through the continued
development of 3D printed materials. Computational fashion runs the very
serious risk of being led by engineers, scientists and architects
rather than experienced fashion designers.
Regardless
of the technical innovation, an awareness of the body is a vital in
pushing the wearable limits of 3D print technology into the mainstream
fashion industry. Studios such as Digits 2 Widgets spend time producing
varieties of stunning and impressive 3D printed fabrics (image 4), which are useless if they cannot work with the human body.
3D
scanning and printing might one day mean that we can all simply print
our own clothes – this is absolutely the dream and could revolutionise
the industry. The exclusive nature of tailored clothing and haute
couture would be dismantled if body scan data is used as the template
for garments printed by a machine. The 3D printed couture of Dutch
designer
Iris Van Herpen’s has already started shifts in this direction.
For now, however, fully 3D printed garments are not yet produced in one piece. Studios like XYZ Workshop have embarked upon printing pieces in parts which are then put together (image 5) with striking results.
Tech
– of all kinds – seems to be this year most tenacious fashion trend. As
more experimental processes and applications are developed, more
outrageous pieces are presented on the fashion week runways. But 3D
printing may have even more radical impacts, rather than simply altering
the appearance of fashion, this technology may actually influence the
structure of the industry as well. This is where things might get really
exciting.
.JPG)
