3D printing is growing in popularity, but how will it impact the fashion industry? In this presentation delivered to the Hong Kong Productivity Council, I share my thoughts on how 3DP and AM (additive manufacturing) are transforming all aspects of fashion, from the way designers prototype to the ways garments actually are manufactured. In this presentation, I provide an overview of additive manufacturing today and then look at examples from popular culture to show how the technology is making its way into mainstream consciousness. I explore some 3DP fashion pioneers, including Iris Van Herpen, Anouk Wipprecht, Danit Peleg, Behnaz Farahi, Neri Oxman, and more to highlight both the possibilities and limitations of this new medium. Aside from costume and concept pieces, 3D printing is actually being used for commercial products. As such, I look at how the technology is appearing in consumer products in fashion and beauty. I illustrate the fashion opportunity for 3DP—mainly, the ability to produce custom products on demand in micro-factories closer to home, as well as regard some of the very real challenges facing designers. I close by looking into the future of 3DP for fashion, arguing that just as the spacesuits of astronauts enabled humankind to explore new environments, the 3DP fashions of the future will push us into a new kind of existence.
7. Illuminating the future of fashion, retail, and
consumer product innovation
WHERE FASHION MEETS
TECHNOLOGY
Electric
Runway
8. Presentation
Overview
THINGS I'LL COVER My thesis
AM & 3D Printing Overview
3DP Fashion Pioneers
Commercial Ventures
The Fashion Opportunity
• Challenges
• Future Visioning
• Contact
9. 3D Printing (3DP) & Additive
Manufacturing (AM) are
already radically transforming
many aspects of the fashion
industry
My thesis (PART 1)
10. New materials never before
used to make clothing are
making their way onto the
body via 3DP clothing and
textiles
Materials
Print-on-demand at home or
close to home
The rise of 3DP micro-
factories and makerspaces
Third-party suppliers and
strategic partners s/a
Stratasys, Autodesk, etc
Manufacturing
Direct-to consumer
enterprises that focus on
mass-customization
Business Models
ARESOFIMPACT
3DP has expanded a
traditional fashion
designer's toolkit
Consumers become
collaborative designers via
customization options
Design
14. MATTER IS MEDIA. COMPRESSIBLE,
SHAREABLE & HACKABLE; MATERIAL
PROPERTIES ARE ALSO CONSTRUCTS
OF INFORMATION AND CAN BE
SOFTWARE DRIVEN
~ Francis Bitonti
15. The Limitations of 3D
Printing point to where
innovation is most needed
in the fashion industry
My thesis (PART 2)
19. SALES OF MATERIALS FOR
POLYMER POWDER BED
FUSION WERE AT AN ALL-
TIME HIGH IN 2018
Figures are in millions of dollars.
Source: Wohlers Report 2019
3D-
Printing
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
400
300
200
100
0
61. New manufacturing methods and
materials mean new styles,
designs, and even new
business models, like print-
on-demand microfactories
Innovation
3DP is already additive (not
subtractive). Think of the
possibilities when you
consider turning waste into
new objects
Waste Reduction
3DP items can more easily be
personalized based on
consumer preference
Personalization
Items can be tailor-made to
fit the customer's body
Customization
THEFASHION
OPPORTUNITYFOR3DP
62. Innovation
Rethinking what our clothes can do
Re-envisioning what our clothes are
made of and how they're made
Faster visualization and
prototyping
63. Waste
Reduction
Turn old designs into new
ones
Refill: 90% recycled made
from recycled bottles
Recyclable Filaments
Unlike cut and sew operations,
you're only creating what's
needed
AM is Additive, not
Subtractive
Print only what's needed or
what's ordered, not what you
hope or project to sell
Print-on-Demand
64. Personalization
"New technologies such as
robotics and 3D printing
may enable companies to
deal with these time
pressures and offer
customers greater
personalization at the
same time" ~ BoF
Bawsome X Materialise
74. Mass
Customization
"FASHION IS SEEING THE
START OF A SEISMIC
SHIFT WHERE PRODUCTS
ARE “PULLED” INTO THE
MARKET BASED ON ACTUAL
DEMAND RATHER THAN
“PUSHED” BASED ON BEST-
GUESSES AND FORECASTS"
~ BOF