Most 3D-printed fashion looks cool but is anything but when it comes to actually putting it on. It's stiff, unwieldy and unwearable. However, a clever pair of M.I.T. graduates, Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg of Nervous System, have solved this by creating fabric made from thousands of interlocking pieces that are hinged together. The hinges allow for draping and movement on the body - and create a very feminine, Guipure-lace looking end-result called Kinematics Cloth.
However, there's also the issue of how you print-out a larger garment, such as a dress, as its size generally exceeds the current abilities of the typical 3D printer. So Rosenkrantz and Louis-Rosenberg solved this using math-soaked software able to mimic how you fold up a garment in real life. By "folding" a dress in half twice, whatever you're printing gets compressed by 85% - and is then simply unfurled after it comes out of the printer.
While all this high-tech cleverness is without question quite cool, what I also found appealing was their eco-minded approach to the production process itself. "Our products are designed to be affordably and ethically made," they explain. "We use manufacturing methods that do not require large facilities or massive manual labor. Often we employ rapid prototyping methods by which all unique pieces can be manufactured at the same cost as cookie cutter ones. We use inexpensive materials and believe that the value of our designs comes from an intelligent and beautiful marriage of form and function, not the current price of currency standards."
- Lesley Scott
NOTE: Actively embracing the future with a desire to make it fashionable and timely is a signature of the Futurenetic Fashion Tribe. For more of my podcasts about this tribe, CLICK HERE. To learn more about each of fashion's four mega-tribes that I track, START HERE.
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