CMU School of Drama


Thursday, January 31, 2013

Iris van Herpen's 3-D-Printed, Laser-Sintered Couture |

Co.Design: business + innovation + design: Though she’s known first and foremost as the herald of 3-D-printed haute couture, Dutch designer Iris van Herpen has always dealt in theater as much as technology. Now in her fifth year as a fixture on the runways, van Herpen’s flair for drama has never been stronger. At Paris Fashion Week on Monday, she opened her Spring 2013 presentation (appropriately titled Voltage) with a model dressed in a metallic bodysuit swaying atop a Tesla coil as columns of purple electricity gusseted from her limbs.

5 comments:

simone.zwaren said...

I am absolutely crazy about these designs. Is it that they were made with the assistance of a laser cutter? This may be a stupid question because I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work with fabric, but hey people are doing crazy things now a days, am I wrong? Anyway, about these outfits, the detail and design in each piece of the collection is elegant and innovative at the same time. This designer takes black and white, and puts them to a myriad of textures and patterns that one may not be used to seeing on dresses or coats. It gives me a lot of satisfaction to see designers take something simple like a little black dress and put a completely different spin on it. If this is any sort of preview for fashion week all I can say is im sad im not at home for this.

Unknown said...

In an odd way, I look at these designs and I find myself frightened. Namely, because it reminds me of some scary sci-fi novels I read in my younger years about "skin suits" and such. I was reading on BBC earlier today about how there's a concept to use a 3D printer that would be deposited on the moon, to build a house for four people (that could be expanded eventually). The fact that I saw both of these stories in the same day has left me with the impression and awe of where we've gone to in science. The concept of a 3D printer was only science fiction ten years ago, and three years ago it was something for only scientists at rich research institutions making tiny parts in the back of labs. Today, fashion designers (granted still costing a large sum of money) and architects (such as the moon building) can not just dream of creating things with 3D printers, but can actually do it. It expands our creativity to bounds that have never been seen before. All new materials and formerly impossible connections using those materials can be made in the format of clothes, buildings, toys, furniture, etc. Who knows? Maybe in another ten years all of our clothing might be completely synthetic and made from 3D printers that we have in our homes.

Nathan Bertone said...

WHAT? I had no idea this was possible. I feel as though the jobs of designers/assistants and all of the people who work to assemble costumes by hand is now going to change if this becomes a "household item". The world is transforming so quickly it is scary. If all of the costumes in the design field were printed this way, many job descriptions would change a many skilled artists would now become unskilled workers. This seems like great technology, but very scary.

april said...

I am not quite sure how i feel about this one. On the one hand i think it is pretty exciting that they have found a way to use such a new and different technology to add to the fashion world, I always enjoy seeing clothing made out of things that weren't originally designed to be worn, not to mention those designs were pretty amazing. but its also pretty scary too. Is there no end to the way that technology is taking over our lives? It seems like nothing is untouched. It freaked me out when she said that 3d printing could be in our clotting future. Technology seems to be wining in its battle to destroy everything that is "real" in our lives, books, food, communication, I will be shocked in a bad way if clothing is next.

Akiva said...

This is the kind of design I want to be doing. I love the mixing of technical ideas with aesthetic ones. Fashion design is a very well established field with many "rules" and standers. It's great to see the sparks of new life on the run way. Most of the designs in the article are a little on the silly side, but the ideas behind them are fantastic. 30 years ago most of these designs would be impossible. I feel very lucky to live in a time when technology like this is not limited to governments or even large company's. Artists can doing things now that have never been possible before.