Modeclix; digital craftsmanship and
fashion.
An exploration of
constructing garments using 3D printing poses many challenges, not least the
fluidity of the ‘textiles’ created by 3D printed materials and their
relationship to the body. The opportunities 3D printing presents to this
process for producing garments allow for complex construction techniques that
defy traditional pattern cutting to create garments that are multi-functional
and customisable.
The potential
allows for the construction of garments that are printed to create fluid pieces
that, on paper, do not conform to a body shape, but when worn are transformed
to augment the natural curves of the wearer. This project considers how
traditional pattern cutting and draping can be combined with technology to
redefine the perception of textiles and, ultimately, the wearer.
The first
challenge, and perhaps the most exciting one, is to define and overcome the
parameters that one is confronted with when trying to mimic woven and/or
knitted textiles from which to make a garment. The obvious limits with this
technology include the materials that can currently be processed using 3D
printing technology. While there are a number of generic 3D printing processes
commercially available, each capable of processing different materials, this
project is focused on the Laser Sintering (LS) process and Nylon material. In
this case, transforming a white powder into a textile is not dissimilar, in
thinking at least, to that of spinning silk from a silkworm. Achieving similar
outcomes, however, poses a greater challenge. Silk can obviously be transformed
into a woven or knitted textile that is pliable, drapable and fluid. The nylon powder utilised by the LS 3D printing process,
by nature, does not have the same properties as silk. It comes out of the
printer in a solid state despite the capability of including movement that is
defined through the use of the software.
As a prerequisite
to the printing process, the printed objects are first designed, or “built,” in
a digital environment using 3D modelling software where complex algorithms can
be used to formulate and define the desired outcome. However, due to the
limitations of the materials, the flexibility and fluidity found in natural
textiles is limited, possibly non-existent.
In addition, working within the limitations of a small print bed[i], constrains what can and
cannot be done. For example, simulations of the textile and how it conforms to the
available print space must be undertaken as the direction of each printed
component must remain the same — much like working with the warp and weft of a
woven piece of cloth. This adds to the complexity of the design process.
There are a number
of examples that illustrate how designers have used 3D printing to create
‘garments,’ with limited success, as a result of the materials used. Most
notably Iris Van Herpen and design brand Nervous System have both utilised the
technology in their design work despite the challenges that they face. However,
it could be said that the items they print are not particularly wearable. In
the case of Iris Van Herpen, her garments are, in the main, solid with little
to no movement at all. The designers at
Nervous System have created a dress that achieves movement through the creation
of highly complex geometry that allows them to print multiple, hinged moving
parts.
Creating 3D
textiles that are flexible with movement that mimics traditional cloth and is
seen as integral to a garment as opposed to an embellishment is crucial to this
research as it ensures that the garments are wearable but at the same time
addressing both traditional methods of garment construction and existing
technology and advances in the development of materials.
In the first
instance, the project focuses on an interpretation of weave and knit. The
initial prototypes are 3D printed as pieces of textile that have enough
movement to ensure that they are fluid and represent a textile that can be used
to make a garment. The focus is on movement; how the textile drapes and
responds to manipulation in relation to the creation of a pattern of a garment
that flows over the body of the wearer and is, at the same time, comfortable to
wear.
The potential to
create customisable garments is enormous. The pieces can then be dyed in an
endless spectrum of colours, another area of research and investigation that
moves away from current limited use of, for example, black and white. Working
on a dress making stand, employing traditional methods of drape rather than
flat pattern cutting techniques, emphasises the idea of working in 3D albeit in
different ways; through the use of 3D CAD and the physical object. Component
pieces can be assembled in ways that allow for intricate and often surprising
outcomes of pattern, drape and construction.
take a look at Molly makes a dress the fashion film about the process.
1 The limitations of the print bed size are an
integral part of the research despite large 3D printers being available as
smaller print beds are easily accessed providing the possibility of rapid
manufacture for mass production.
