Tomer Emmar (TE), Digital Production Creation Manager, 3D Print Studio at Tapestry, Inc., explains how 3D printing has become an integral part of the product creation process for the parent company of Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman.
TCT: Tell us about the role of additive manufacturing as an enabling tool at Tapestry.
TE: 3D Printing at Tapestry, Inc. has evolved from a very-nice-to-have to an essential part of our product creation process for our product development and design teams.
We are leveraging 3D printing for early-phase concept developments as well as late-stage product validation on all hard-good product categories from intricate jewellery and complex hardware mechanisms for handbags to full-colour, multi-material 1:1 scale footwear mock-ups including outsoles & uppers, large-scale visual merchandising props, and more.
We can prototype complex products in-house, quickly and accurately for design approval or to make correction in timely manner before they go into production. We enable faster decision-making facilitating design optimisation before investing in expensive traditional sampling techniques. We eliminate costs associated with minimum order quantities, transport, import taxes and tariffs on samples that technically have commercial value but cannot be sold in stores. Overall, reduced costs and streamlined development.
Although we use the same tools day in and day out and leverage our expertise in additive manufacturing to help designers realise their vision, the project is always different; if you ask me what the team will be working on next week, I have no idea… it can be anything from a locking mechanism to skateboard wheels.
TCT: Can you share any specific applications where 3D printing made a significant positive impact?
TE: Last year at RAPID + TCT, I showcased the Coach Spring 2023 Runway jelly bag we prototyped internally. The design team wanted to see 5 different options for the bag so they could land on the design before going into production.
Instead of waiting weeks on end and spending $15,000 per iteration/mould, we leveraged 3D printing for this process to prototype the bag within a matter of days and only spend $123.88 per prototype, all done in-house in a shorter time span. Leveraging 3D Printing for this process decreased prototyping costs by 99.17% per iteration. When other design teams learned about the ROI, this product was adopted from the Coach Runway to Retail to Outlet, and was even explored by our other brand, Kate Spade.
TCT: We’ve seen 3D printing creeping into more end-use applications in apparel and consumer goods. Is that something you’re exploring?
TE: We’re always exploring prototyping and end-use applications for 3D printing. OEMs are excited about end-use applications because it will unlock exponential growth; I see the potential, but the use cases are too specific and there are still too many constraints to deploy 3D printing for end-use components at scale; for us, scale isn’t in the hundreds or even thousands, it is in the 10,000 to 100,000s when considering individual components in our collections.
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Post-processing and finishing 3D prints remains a huge unspoken challenge; both from the perspective of hands-on work it takes to process a 3D print and the waste created by the machines. Marketing departments at 3D Printing companies do a great job selling you a machine without mentioning all the work that goes into creating, for example, and optically clear prototype.
Once you buy the machine, you must figure it all out on your own, I believe everyone will benefit if there was more effort in personalised training and education as well as ongoing support to uncover applications and apply processes at scale. I don’t believe the industry is quite upfront about the challenges of deploying 3D printing technologies beyond small scale prototyping, yet they still want their technology to be used for end-use parts.
It's important to consider everything that happens after acquiring equipment; including the people who will be operating the machines, the effort it requires to finish a part, space constraints and outfitting a workshop, machine maintenance, and how to remove the large amounts of waste created by 3D printing machines, etc.
TCT: There’s sometimes hesitation when newer technologies and processes come in that they might impact or take away that human element in the creative process. How does 3D printing complement your creative process in your work?
TE: The luxury fashion industry is built on desire, scarcity, and craftsmanship and technology can be perceived as the antithesis to the foundation the industry is built on; it is crucial to change the story from technology as the antagonist, to technology as an enabler for greater creativity, not only for design, but for all.
When re-building the workspace from the ground up inside Coach’s leather-making workshop in New York City, I saw a unique opportunity to rebrand our team from the 3D Printing Lab to the 3D Print Studio; it seems silly but in fashion, perception is everything. I wanted to strategically align more closely with the language designers and other creatives in the company understand so they can see us as collaborators and partners in the product creation process so they can adopt 3D printing earlier on and extract the most value out of it; our aim is to complement and augment their creative work with early visibly, accuracy, and speed.
Besides an internal rebrand of the team, curiosity goes a long way. Many people in fashion are specialised in their respective functions, not 3D printing; asking questions about the way they work is instrumental in uncovering use cases and applications for emerging technologies within the organisation. Most teams work differently than one other, even teams who are designing for the same categories, so taking a personalised approach to their process helped increase adoption and bridge the gap to serve them more effectively.
TCT: Roles including 3D printing tend to veer more towards traditional engineering skills and perhaps fashion doesn’t seem like the most obvious career route! Should we be encouraging more on creative minds to look towards AM careers?
TE: Yes, without a doubt! We should absolutely encourage more creative minds to look towards careers in AM. It’s still quite niche but it’s growing and I see opportunities popping up everywhere.
When I look at candidates, their 3D printing experiences plays a very, very small role in the decision-making process as teaching 3D printing is the easiest part. I can teach them everything about the technical aspects of operating a 3D printer; I am most interested in the way the think, their mental models, their perception of how the world works, how they make decisions, and how they solve problems.
An engineering skillset is part of the equation, but I’d also consider industrial designers, jewellery designers, architects, and even fine artists such as people with sculpting experience as viable candidates for the team. After all, no one goes into university to obtain a degree in 3D printing but there are many adjacent skills that translate well into our studio environment. Most importantly, I am looking for people who are excited about working with their hands and aren’t afraid to use the fabrication tools we have in our studio.
3D printing is only small part of the process, you do that day in and day out, after a while it becomes second nature; it’s in the creative application of the technology where the real impact lies.
This article originally appeared inside TCT Europe Edition Vol. 33 Issue 1 and TCT North American Edition Vol. 11 Issue 1. Subscribe here to receive your FREE print copy of TCT Magazine, delivered to your door six times a year.
