Left to right: Pangolin dress, Harmonograph dress.
Whilst 3D printed fashion might not have made it into your wardrobe just yet, it has caught the attention of the fashion elite from Francis Bitonti’s iconic Dita dress, to Anouk Wipprecht’s sensor infused, fashion tech and Xuberance’s 3D printed wedding dress.
New York-based designer, Travis Fitch, and designers threeASFOUR, are the latest to bring 3D printing to the runway with two unique dresses made with Stratasys technology.
Presented as part of threeASFOUR’s Fall/Winter show at Milk studios during New York Fashion Week, the ‘Pangolin’ and ‘Harmonograph’ dresses were created on an Objet500 Connex3 3D printer in Stratasys’ new Nano Enhanced Elastomeric Technology material, set for release later this year.
Designers Gabi Asfour, Angela Donhauser and Adi Gil took inspiration from natural geometries for this ‘Biomimicry’ collection and both dresses explore the way natural morphologies can only be replicated in textiles through 3D printing.
The Harmonograph dress circles around the body in three spirals following the geometry of the Fibonacci sequence and was created using a mix of both rigid and rubber materials in a single print. The second piece comprises of 14 pattern pieces derived from a signature threeASFOUR design. The overall skin was created using a variety of interlocking weaves, which mimic natural animal textures through a range of porosities and flexibilities.
“Having the capability to vary colour and rigidity in a single piece using Stratasys’ Connex3 3D printing technology inspired us to explore flexibility, depth and transformation as inherent design objectives,” Gil, commented. “As artists and designers, it is our prerogative – and our nature – to explore the bounds of new technological opportunities, and to push the limits of the way in which forms are created. As the most advanced 3D printed dresses that we have created to date, we are extremely excited to showcase these pieces and demonstrate the unique possibilities unfolding at the intersection of fashion, design and technology.”
“We are always looking to revolutionize manufacturing methods, pioneer new design options, and inspire designers and students to create avant-garde expressions of fashion,” comments Naomi Kaempfer, Creative Director, Art Fashion Design, Stratasys. “Collaborative projects with talented and visionary designers, such as threeASFOUR, are the ideal way to showcase to aspiring designers, students and creatives the types of organic and complex mathematical structures that can become a physical reality with 3D printing. Our mission is to change the way people think about design and to redefine its possibilities."
