FASHION & TECHNOLOGYFeaturing 3-D Printing

By: Lawrence, Melinda

3-D Printing & Fashion Merge

In 2013, Dutch designer Iris van Herpen merged the worlds of 3-D printing and fashionVan Herpen created an 11 piece collection, which featured 2 3-D printed looksThe looks debuted at her Haute Couture show, ‘VOLTAGE’ during Paris Fashion Week in 2013This started a movement for van Herpen, which she continues today adding 3-D printed pieces to her collections each seasonThis presentation will show some of her ensembles and discuss her process

Stratasys 3-D Printed Cape & Skirt with Objet Connex Multi-material 3-D Printed

Technology• This look is an elaborate skirt and cape

created in collaboration with architect, artist, designer and professor Neri Oxman from MIT’s Media Lab and 3-D printed by Stratasys

• Stratasys is a leading manufacturer of 3-D printers and production systems for prototyping and manufacturing

• The 3-D printed skirt and cape were created using Stratasys’ one-of-a-kind Objet Connex multi-material 3-D printing technology, which allows a variety of material properties to be printed in a single build. http://www.materialise.com/cases/iris-van-herpen-debuts-wearable-3d-printe

d-pieces-at-paris-fashion-week (Article 1)

Van Herpen (Cont’d)• This technology allowed both hard

and soft materials to be included within the design, critical to the movement and texture of the piece.

• Oxman explains that “The ability to vary softness and elasticity inspired us to design a “second skin” for the body acting as armor-in-motion; in this way we were able to design not only the garment’s form but also its motion.”

• “The incredible possibilities afforded by these new technologies allowed us to reinterpret the tradition of couture as “tech-couture” where delicate hand-made embroidery and needlework is replaced by code.”

Materialise 3-D Printed Dress

• This dress is an intricate piece designed in collaboration with Austrian architect Julia Koerner, and 3-D printed by Materialise

• Materialise is a Belgian-based pioneer in Additive Manufacturing software and solutions

• An experimental new material was put to use in the creation of a flexible, soft dress of marvelous intricacy

• The piece’s complex lace-like texture was created with precision by lasers through a method known as Laser Sintering and would not be possible any other way

Materialise (Cont’d)• Julia Koerner explains, “My collaboration

with Materialise for the 3-D printed dress for Iris van Herpen's Haute Couture Show 'Voltage' 2013 reveals a highly complex, parametrically generated, geometrical structure. The architectural structure aims to superimpose multiple layers of thin woven lines which animate the body in an organic way. Exploiting computational boundaries in combination with emergent technology selective laser sintering, of a new flexible material, lead to enticing and enigmatic effects within fashion design. New possibilities arise such as eliminating seams and cuts where they are usually placed in couture.”

Materialise Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNpbLRrdJxQ

Biopiracy Collection • For this dress, van Herpen once again

used Materialise’s flexible material for 3-D Printing, TPU 92A-1, which she used to great effect for her Voltage Haute Couture show in January 2013

• “Iris and Julia worked together again on a design that successfully pushed the limits of what both TPU 92A-1 and Laser Sintering could do, with Materialise’s Magics software being used to optimize the design for the 3-D Printing process and ensure a successful outcome.”

• The flowing and flexible dress was coated in silicon to give it a glossy sheen as the final step

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfmXNBvNORk (2:13)http://www.materialise.com/press/iris-van-herpen-julia-koer

ner-and-materialise-reunite-for-the-biopiracy-collection (Article 2)

Ice Dress • This dress from van Herpen’s Spring

2015 Paris show was created in collaboration with American 3-D printing company 3-D Systems

• Van Herpen wanted to use a technique called stereolithography, which 3-D Systems founder Chuck Hull invented in 1983

• It had been used for industrial applications up until van Herpen found another use for it

• A beam of ultraviolet light is concentrated onto the surface of a vat filled with liquid photopolymer, and layer by layer the photopolymer hardens and then the print is pulled out of the vat and the final product is a piece of the dress

http://fashionista.com/2014/10/iris-van-herpen-3-d-printing (Article 3)

Ice Dress (Cont’d)• A single garment can cost

thousands of dollars and is not mass marketable

• 3-D Systems is working with Van Herpen to make her designs more commercial and affordable

• Van Herpen plans to produce a range of accessories with the same technology used to create the ice dress

• Jewelry, hair accessories and bags will most likely be a part of her collection

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp2om8Z2B64

ConclusionIris Van Herpen has proven that 3-D printing is not just restricted to plastic that cannot be wornVan Herpen is a true innovator in merging fashion and 3-D printingSources

http://www.materialise.com/cases/iris-van-herpen-debuts-wearable-3d-printed-pieces-at-paris-fashion-week (Article 1)

http://www.materialise.com/press/iris-van-herpen-julia-koerner-and-materialise-reunite-for-the-biopiracy-collection (Article 2)

http://fashionista.com/2014/10/iris-van-herpen-3-d-printing (Article 3)