Stratasys fashion
Japanese-style kimono produced by Ganit Goldstein using direct-to-textile multi-colour 3D printing.
Stratasys has collaborated with fashion designers Julia Koerner and Ganit Goldstein to produce dresses and kimonos with 3D printed parts.
The works of Koerner and Goldstein form part of Re-FREAM, a collaborative research project funded by the European Union, and utilised Stratasys’ PolyJet 3D printing technology. Stratasys has previously worked with the likes of threeASFOUR to develop pieces that were exhibited at New York Fashion Week and aligned with Koerner and Goldstein to ‘optimise its PolyJet technology to meet the needs of modern-day apparel’ and ‘make customised fashion design commercially viable.’
Enabling customised fashion design was the motivation of Goldstein, who spent a year in Japan to learn interweaving, and get to grips with Asian craft embroidery and textile painting. The resulting kimono design follows the Japanese ‘ikat’ colouring method – where yarn is tightly wrapped and continually dyed until the desired pattern in created – before additional material is added through direct-to-textile 3D printing to create a uniquely designed garment. Having textiles as the ‘skeleton’ of the garment is said to be a first for 3D printed fashion, but, per Goldstein, is not intended to be the last.
“Looking at the fashion world today, I want to introduce a new way of manufacturing, moving aware from mass production to customised design,” commented Goldstein. “3D printing has always offered the potential to personalise design in ways not possible before, but to truly create a new way to manufacture requires a new kind of textile. My goal is to create a new hybrid world of crafts and multi-colour 3D printing, connecting past, new and future techniques to evolve fashion design.
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Stratasys Fashion
Jukia Koerner's ARID Collection.
“In fashion, it’s important that we continually optimise and evolve to introduce new design forms. During the past year, I experimented with numerous different fabrics and technologies to incorporate 3D printing within textiles. Achieving this milestone takes us away from 2D design and opens up a world of wearable 3D garments.”
Also wanting to push the boundaries of modern fashion design is Koerner, whose ARID Collection was unveiled at the virtual ARS Electronica Festival. These works have been produced on the back of research focusing on digital processes from 2D to 3D for nature-inspired geometries and the adaptability of textiles with multi-colour 3D printed parts. This research has led to the production of 38 different 3D printed parts that combine to form a dress. Again, Stratasys’ PolyJet technology was used to print directly onto fabrics, with Koerner opting for vivid colours so as to engineer a shimmer effect when the garment is moving.
Modified 3D printed connectors, derived from 3D scans of the wearer, are said to allow for personalised sizes and there is no sewing required, with 3D printed joinery used to help assemble the final piece.
