The following text was written for the Fashion House exhibition which I recently curated for 3D Printshow New York:
The rate at which 3D print technology continues to develop
is evident across industries. Yet despite this awe-inspiring and wide-reaching
progression, particular areas of exploration especially capture our
imaginations. Fashion is one such area, and the collection featured at 3D
Printshow New York serves to illustrate just what additive manufacture can do
for wearable, technological design.
The
undeniable excitement that is apparent in all of the exhibited pieces
demonstrates the potential that 3D printing can allow. Previously unexplored
forms can be accessed by innovative techniques, encouraging a new school of
designers who are working towards original and astounding fashion artefacts and
garments. A fresh approach to fashion ensues: trends in computational design
can be immediately accessed by anyone with a computer, allowing engineers,
architects and professionals from a variety of fields to contribute to this
ambitious sartorial discourse.
Amidst
the excitement, it’s certainly easy to get carried away by the new
possibilities on offer. However, 3D printed fashion is by no means separate
from the traditional and contemporary fashion design methods which are still
popularly used throughout the industry. The tension between hand-crafted skill
and machine-induced production is certainly evident within collections of
additive manufactured wearables, and will doubtlessly remain an area of
discussion and disagreement. This critical approach certainly lays the
foundation for more fascinating research – both in terms of the materials being
used, as well as the subject explored – and stands as a continuation of
Fashion’s productive development.
The
pieces presented in this collection stand to question our own relationship with
clothing and materials. Should 3D printed fashion be attempting to push
creative limits, or should it be creating new ways to support one of the
economy’s largest existing industries? And should the practical applications of
3D scanning and computational design overlook the stunning new forms that can
be produced – however unwearable some of these pieces may be?
Join
us as we continue to explore and question the expanding field of computational
design and 3D printed fashion.
