Tuesday 24 June 2014

3D printing at Topman Designs SS15

I know it feels like a while ago now, but it was London Collections: Men last week in London, and whilst I'm usually interested and involved with the shows themselves, this season was slightly different. Working together with My 3D Twin and Topman, the creative 3D printing agency I work with ran a brilliant project, in which models straight off the catwalk were 3D scanned and 3D printed.

After checking out the technology (more about this in a previous post), we were convinced the idea would run as a fantastic marketing campaign for Topman, whose SS15 Topman Design collection was in question. Not only has this initiative allowed for people who weren't present at the show to digitally interact with the collection, but it also illustrates a step in the right direction in terms of future uses of 3D technology for retail.

Leading British online retailer ASOS has this month announced a project using a similar technique. SIZE ASOS will run as a three day initiative, in which members of the public will be 3D scanned as a way of taking their exact bodily measurements, creating a database of true dimensions which will be used to improve the e-tailer's sizing structure. Whilst the technology is being used differently than how we implemented it for Topman Designs, its clear to see that people are recognising increasing value in the ability to bridge the gap between digital and IRL.

All that's left now is to wait until someone thinks of a seriously game-changing idea that will completely change how we look at the fashion industry on a digital platform. Exciting stuff, right?



 backstage at Topman Designs SS15, some of the 3D printed looks from the collection