3D Printing and Fashion?

The 3D printer is a remarkable device that will change the future of retail, fashion, and almost everything in the world. The 3D printer can make anything from chocolate bars to medical aids to apparel goods. The technology can create pretty much anything you can think or draw.  To make an item, all one has to do is create an image using a computer-aided design (CAD) software program, send the CAD info to a printer, then the printer forms the item with material such as plastic. The 3D printer creates one layer at a time and eventually a complete item is formed.

Accessories, such as bracelets, can be printed from a 3D printer as well. One can buy a 3D printer online from Staples for $1,299 by the end of June 2013. So just over a month away consumers will be able to get their hands on 3D printers. I am assuming the 3D printer will be small enough to fit in a regular size room in a home, so a question arises if consumers can really print out apparel items from home? Accessories and shoes are most likely small enough to print from a 3D printer, but will consumers be able to afford a larger size printer that can print out apparel items? Or will there even be a printer for consumers to buy that is large enough to print larger size items without needing to put pieces together?

3D printers can make eccentric fashion. Pictured on the left are 3D printed shoes. They almost remind me of something that Lady Gaga would wear. They are very unique and pricy. The 3D printed shoes that I have seen on Google cost anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000. What is great about a 3D printed shoe is that one-day consumers will be able to print out shoes from their home. Not to mention that consumers will be able to print out apparel, accessories, and pretty much any fashion item they desire in the future. Not sure on how companies will compete with 3D printers or if they will sell their CAD information to consumers, either way 3D printers will help in consumer efficiency. Imagine if someone could just print off an item they buy on the Internet! No more costs of shipping. It is almost like teleporting an item straight from your home. 

Many designers have started to experiment with 3D printed fashion. Jenna Fizel and Mary Huang of Continuum Fashion have experimented with technology and fashion. Their entire brand is based on technology affecting fashion. The N12, by Continuum, is a 3D printed bikini. The material the bikini is made from, N12, stands for Nylon 12. The material is extremely strong, flexible, and will not break even though the material is thin. The N12 is waterproof (it is a bikini), functional, and comfortable.

I wonder what innovations may come next that will effect fashion? Or what development of the 3D printer will come out? As Mary Huang, co-founder of Continuum Fashion, dreams, “A 3D laser-sinter knitting machine — something that can create a whole garment in three dimensions all at once out of raw materials. Maybe it can fit in your closet and knit you a new dress overnight. And then you put in yesterday's garment, and it reuses it to make something new. Infinite styles and no laundry!”

What can you create with a 3D printer? (Learn more by clicking, here.)

by: Chloe Halley