אופנה · איריס ואן הרפן · הדפסה תלת מימדית · הדפסת תלת מימד · הרצאה ·May 14, 2019

Fashion and 3D printing

I have always been interested in new technologies. And my love of fashion has been with me for more than a decade.

So it felt completely natural to start a brand that brings together my two great loves: fashion and technology. That’s also why, when “The Katedra” invited me to give a talk on fashion and 3D printing, I was delighted to accept.

Fashion and 3D printing Liat Brandel The Katedra

One evening a few weeks ago, I arrived (armed with excitement) at the Rothschild Auditorium at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv. In my bag, you would have found a USB drive with a presentation featuring 12 unique videos, which I had carefully selected and edited. After weeks of work and research, I enjoyed giving a talk about the intersection of fashion and 3D printing as part of “The Katedra’s” lecture series on fashion and innovation.

What did I talk about? Here’s a little preview.

Fashion and 3D printing fashion lecture Liat Brandel

Why am I so interested in 3D printing?

For several years now, I’ve been laser cutting. I make a pattern, adjust it, scan it onto the computer, draw on the scan, send it for laser cutting, sew the pieces together, adjust the pattern, and repeat the process (read about laser cutting and my work process in this post).

3D printing technology is similar, but also very different. Here, too, there’s a connection between drawing on the computer and the finished product, much like the way I work today. But unlike my process, with 3D printing the entire product is designed in 3D on a computer and printed as a finished piece, usually without the need to assemble parts after printing. The design is created in 3D software, rather than 2D illustration software, which is what I use today.

Pieces printed entirely in 3D, Iris van Herpen, an ensemble from the Capriole collection—like skydiving”) A sculptural 3D dress from Iris van Herpen’s Capriole collection (2011), made of white polyamide and goatskin. Photo from an exhibition at the High Museum of Art, available on Wikimedia Commons

What is 3D printing?

It’s a general term for several different techniques—technologies that make it possible to produce three-dimensional models from a computer. The design is created using CAD software (computer-aided design). Printing is done with different types of plastic, and new materials and material combinations are being developed all the time, making it possible to produce components for a range of industries: architecture, space, transportation, aviation, weapons, medicine, attempts at producing food, biological tissues and organs (a developing field—here’s a recent example from our little country), and, of course, clothing.

Anthozoa Dress, made from a soft polymer, a collaboration with Neri Oxman (an Israeli-American professor at MIT) (Neri Oxman), Voltage collection, 2013

The Anthozoa Dress combines rigid materials and soft polymers. It was created in collaboration with Professor Neri Oxman for the Voltage 2013 collection. Click here to watch a clip from the official fashion show on YouTube (starting at 8:44) and see the sculptural design move on the runway.

And what’s the connection between 3D printing and fashion?

In this context, we have to mention the talented fashion designer and pioneer of 3D-printed haute couture: Iris van Herpen. Van Herpen is a Dutch designer whose unprecedented designs combine the most traditional materials with the most radical ones.

Van Herpen has pioneered the use of 3D printing as a technique for constructing garments since 2010, and is one of the most talented and innovative fashion creators. In her work, she combines the most traditional materials with the most radical ones. Her designs feature a distinctive aesthetic, an interest in science and technology, and inspiration drawn from the natural world.