Origami in the shoe rack
You can print virtually anything on a 3D printer. It was only a matter of time until this super technology made a breakthrough into the fashion industry too. Would you like an original evening gown, a cocktail dress or a pair of luxury high heels so beautifully and finely crafted that they look as if they have been folded from paper using an origami technique?
What is a 3D printer?
3D printing is, simply put, a process during which a specific physical item is created from a digital model created on a computer. The given object is created thanks to layering and melting of a thin strip of plastic. You could for example picture this like an apple cut into slices, whereas you draw the individual slices with a special hot melt gun.
3D printing by hand
And this technology goes even further: a special pen was created in 2013 called the 3Doodler, which is able to draw in three dimensions. Although three-dimensional models created by hand with the aid of this hi-tech toy will look different to those from a regular 3D printer (where printing is programmed and the strokes are absolutely precise), it can be used to do really interesting things. An original shoe for example.
Origami in the shoe rack
The designer and professional creative artist Kade Chan used the 3Doodler for precisely this purpose. He drew inspiration from this Japanese traditional art of paper folding and at the same time, transferred traditional shoemaker’s procedures to 3D printing. And he created a luxury high heel shoe with a stiletto heel which is able to absorb shocks when walking. So this is not only something to put in a display case, but a truly and practically wearable shoe.
Hi-tech luxury fashion
Things should be just as simple with clothes in the future.
It is already possible not only to print dresses on a 3D printer, but they can also be tailored to the individual. How is this possible? With the aid of a 3D body scan. The finished product thus emphasises the elegance of its wearer’s curves.
Three-dimensional printing of clothes currently has only one catch: the material. This is to say that regularly printed 3D dresses are not made from true fabrics which can be worn for a long time. However, good inroads are being made in this respect by Electroloom, which is attempting to develop printable fabric.
Ever more frequent use will without a doubt be made of 3D printing in the fashion industry. This is to say that there are almost no limits and complications in 3D printing. You can basically do “absolutely anything”.
In the future, we will thus spontaneously design what we want to wear that day every morning and simply print out the garment. And fashion designers will certainly not be alone in wanting to rise to that challenge.
Does it still seem somewhat unbelievable to you? We live in a world of unimagined possibilities – and this is evidently one of them. So why not just fall in love with it?
