3D printing and fashion: Where are we at, what can we expect?

Future TechMaterials
··6 min read
3D-printed-clothes-in-Paris-Fashion-Week
The two 3D printed dress from Iris van Harpen’s 11-piece collection at Voltage show at the 01/2013 Paris Couture Fashion Week

If there is an area of fashion that is truly pushing the boundaries of what is technically and style-wise possible, then it is Haut Couture.
It is here where technical development from other specialities are often brought for the first time into fashion, and it is here where traditional craftsmanship re-invents itself seasons after season.
While admittedly few can afford the rather astronomic prices of an Haute Couture pieces – although the market has been expanding in the last few years thanks to buyers in the middle east, China and beyond – it is here that we can get a glimpse of what may become mainstream rather sooner than later. One the technology then hits the mainstream – likely through street wear trends – that’s when the paradigms start changing.

In January 2013 2 pieces among Iris van Harpenr’s 11-piece collection at Voltage show attracted the interested of fashionistas as much as product techies: The first ever wearable dresses created through a 3D printing process.
With these 2 pieces Iris van Harpen (read this interview with the designer) had proven what up that point in time had been considered as only possible ‘in a far away place in the future’. But possible more importantly: in doing so she had proven that in a not too far away future, people may well be able to design and make their own clothes, making both fashion designers as well as retailers potentially redundant.

Video: 3D Printed Dress by Iris van Harpen on the Catwalk at Paris Fashion Week

One area of the fashion accessories spectrum where this is already a hotly discussed topic is the design and making of eyewear (glasses, spectacles). Here, the technology helps rapid prototyping processes, and then through direct digital manufacturing offers the opportunity to a) reduce stock b) reduce minimums in production c)mass-customise and d) cut waste out of production (more about that later, but the underyling reason is that 3D printing is an additive technology, where as the current state-fo-the-art is based on subtractive technologies). A first eyewear brand entirely based on 3D printing is San Francisco based Protos.

But let’s wind back for a moment …

In a nutshell: What is 3D printing, and how does it work?

This Video is an introduction to 3D printing by the Australian TV programme ‘Catalyst’.

3D printing is also called ‘additive manufacturing’. It is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. 3D printing is achieved using an additive process, where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes. This is way 3D printing is considered distinct from traditional machining techniques, which mostly rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting or drilling (subtractive processes). (Source: Wikipedia)

The technology is deemed so promising and important, that even the otherwise not exactly investment and innovation savvy UK government recently invested £15 Mio to support the development.

Why will this technology become a game changer in fashion, interiors & accessories?

The arguments in this context are multifold, and the following list is just a first brain storm of what the impacting factors are.


The design and making of a 3D printed Bikini. Talk by Mary Huang, Continuum FashionSpeaker at NEXT Berlin 2012.

  1. 3D – i.e. adjusting to the human shape, particularly in the case of women – remains a difficult technical issue in fashion. The opportunity that 3D printing offers means that products can created that are based on a spacial concept, as opposed to a ‘flat world’ that needs to be adjusted to fit with the spacial shapes of the body.
  2. 3D printing is based on a nylon/polyester type of material. The technology already exists to shred e.g. milk bottles and use them as the basic substrate for the products. It also means that in prinicple the products can be shredded themselves, and the shredded stuff used as raw material again.
  3. Everyone who owns a printer, can ‘make stuff’. The blue print exists to that even with the printer itself …
    The following user comment on Youtube summarises this neatly: “Imagine just ordering a design for everything from shoes to jeans and having your 3D printer at home print it out right there in front of you, in the colour you want that suits you, no waiting for delivery, and more importantly, sized exactly for your body. There’s going to have to be a lot of smart parametric designs so they can adapt to different body shapes but the designers who can do? that are going to do well. Roll on the 3D printing revolution.” (Source)
  4. 3D printing is right spot on with trends that are already there: ‘Made in’, efficiency in production by cutting out work steps, mass-customisation, bio-plastic materials, reduction of shipping distances, creating less waste and reusing waste material again, etc.
  5. Indeed, just thinking of production efficiency – from currently about 8 to 10 production step for a knitwear dress, these could potentially be cut to 2 or 3: design, download, printing.
  6. Waste: not only is the material recyclable in principle, but if consumers print at home, they can easily use the material of unloved garments right away to create something more to their fancy.
  7. Mass-customisation or rather ‘mass-bespoke’: The technology to create virtual models based on body scans already exists, and is currently trialled in numerous applications for virtual dressing rooms. Combined with 3D printing this mean that suddently designs can be ‘bespoke’ at the cost of what ‘ready to wear’ used to be in the past.

This all said – it is still early days, and in terms of quality, the technologies available for the mainstream are at prototyping level at best, and lack quality for the final product. Chances are though, it is but a question of time …

Who is using digital printing already, and what are they making?

There are many designers experimenting with the technology, and the new graduates e.g. at London College of Fashion definitely have discovered the possibilities inherent in this new technoloy as it goes main stream.
There are few however that have made the leap of faith so far, and braved the consumers’ oppinion with their ventures. This said – scanning the news as of Spring 2013 – the tide is very well on the rise.