3D PRINTING: A FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER?

The disruption of the pandemic has fast-tracked technology as both a necessity and an escape, but it has also offered a glimpse of how much more it can be. With the pandemic forcing the designers to conceptualise digitally; futuristic, experimental, surrealistic and cyborg motifs have entered the women’s textile forecast category. Holistically, it revolves around the influence of technology and its relationship with fashion. Digitally designed and created materials promoting sustainable and aesthetically pleasing motifs such as distorted dye effect, hyper texture and futurism come in vogue. With sustainability becoming the need of the hour and innovation finally re-entering the ateliers, 3D printing or additive manufacturing is coming into conversation as one of the greener tools currently at avail to the industry. 3D printing as a technique is being considered by designers owing to the high- performance, low cost, recycled, organic and malleable materials specific to this method.

In the couture world, 3D printing was first introduced by the Dutch designer, Iris Van Herpen. By always being surrounded by water in her hometown in Netherlands and her dance background, she tends to create works which explore the movement and the femininity of the human body and the space around it. She

printed her first piece in collaboration with the London-based architect Daniel Widrig, printed by .MGX by Materialise during the Amsterdam Fashion Week in 2010.

Iris Van Herpen’s first 3D printed garment, the “Crystallisation” Top.

The Skeleton Dress, Fall Couture Collection, 2011 Her Fall Couture collection of
2011, the designer used rapid prototyping to mimic nature to create her Skeleton Dress in collaboration with architect Isiah Bloch which currently resides in the MetropolitanMuseum of Art. In 2012, her Cathedral Dress was printed in polyamide and was given a copper electroplating bath to give it a burnished glow. Her collections are reflective of how she continued to be more innovative and experimental with the technology year after year.

The Hybrid Dress, Spring Couture Collection, 2013

In her 2013 Spring Couture collection she managed to 3D print a flexible material whilst working with the Medical Matter group from MIT. Later that year, for her fall collection she made the Hybrid dress which was 3D printed and over moulded with silicone. The dress gained a lot of press since it showed how prototyping can work hand in hand with more traditional techniques. She continues to erode stereotypes about the cold sterility of technology by constantly collaborating with people belonging to different industries like art,

architecture, scientists and music. Van Herpen also introduced 3D printed jewellery in her “Shifting Souls” collection of 2018.

The Earth-rise collection, Iris Van Herpen x Parley, 2021

The process was done by scanning the faces of the mannequins and using algorithmic modelling software to combine the 3D shape with the desired colours. In recent years, Iris Van Herpen has taken major steps to create in a sustainable fashion and she is using technology to achieve that goal. Her 2021 collaboration with Parley for the Oceans for her collections. “Earth-rise” and “Roots of Rebirth” made purely out of up-cycled ocean debris is proof of that. Her use of 3D printing and innovation of digital fabrics has truly paved the way for a more sustainable future. Another designer that is breaking stereotypes when it comes to marrying technology with fashion is the Hong Kong born Scarlett Yang.

“I am seeking a solution to program fashion as a human-made object to coexist with nature.” Her time at Central Saint Martins piqued her interest in the bio materials which led her to explore case studies of existing materials and technological innovations. “I aim to reflect on how we can incorporate digital technologies to discuss our current and previous realities.”

Scarlett Yang’s Glass Dress

In 2020, Yang used the 3D printing technology to create a dress that reflects life cycles through growing and decomposing in reaction to its environment. She made her own bio material using algae extract and silk cocoon protein also known as sericin to create a glass-like dress that grows over time and can decompose in water within 24 hours. Yang used generative design to create a 3D computer model of the textural shape that the material would take before digitally fabricating a casting mould using 3D-printing and laser-cutting technologies. She then added her biomaterial to give the dress its form and nature. The motive behind the dress was to make a garment that would leave no harmful trace on the planet.

The technology of 3D printing can prove to bring us closer to a more sustainable and healthy world of fashion. The use of this technology not only eliminates the possibility of excess materials being used while making a particular design or mock ups but also the entire practice of classification of clothing sizes which can lead to healthy consumerism. It is beneficial for the planet as it is likely to leave a smaller carbon footprint and makes the freight cost obsolete. Lastly, 3D printing gives the designer more creative freedom.

Thanks to designers like Iris van Herpen and Scarlett Yang, the criticism of technology replacing craftsmanship and un recyclable materials becomes archaic and superannuated. The former designer believes and practices that craftsmanship and technology are both tools to elevate a design and their coexistence in her designs is what makes her work unique, the latter’s although recent but ingenious work, with biomaterials and its incorporation with 3D printing speaks for itself as it unlocks the potential of innovative and recyclable textiles. 3D printing can prove to be a game changer for sustainable fashion especially in times like these where the fashion industry is shifting to into the virtual space.

This tool if used wisely can cater to a lot of futuristic wants of the coming generation as they are becoming more aware and conscious of their choices. 3D printing also has a lot of potential to bring about new and better textiles which are completely three- dimensionally grown having various properties depending on the garment. Therefore, the fashion industry can profit immensely by utilising this invention and so can the planet. While 3D printing seems to show a lot of promise, there is always another argument to be put forward.

With 3D printing gaining popularity, a lot of manufacturing jobs may decrease. Also 3D printing uses significant amounts of energy as compared to traditional manufacturing. The Illinois Institute of Technology discovered 3D printing used in enclosed spaces can generate potential toxic emissions and carcinogenic particles. Counterfeiting of products will also arise as a concern, patent violations will increase as anyone with the product blueprint will be able to recreate the design. While trying to come up with more sustainable alternatives are we actually creating another problem for ourselves? Will we ever be able to escape this labyrinth and create sustainably or is the fashion industry simply doomed?