Tyranny of Style: 3D printing technology has grown significantly in the last ten years to become an accessible tool for artists, small business owners, and amateur crafters. It has already made a splash in the fashion industry through visionary leaders such as Iris van Herpen, Michael Schmidt, and Francis Bitonti. And it has slowly been invading the costume design world in film (Prometheus, Enders Game, Man of Steel), and most recently themed entertainment (Walt Disney World’s “Festival of Fantasy Parade”). It’s implications for the future of design seems endless, and designers are posed to make great gains in the ability to execute unusual and complex costume pieces unlike ever before.
3 comments:
It only makes sense that this technology would bleed into the costume world, this really helps to eliminate the need to hand craft delicate masks and other prosthetics, just to have them destroyed during the run or rehearsal. Not to take all the craftsman ship out of costume production, but things that are #D printed could definitely serve as structure and support pieces. And the potentials outside of that, hard shells that don’t have to be substituted with shiny fabric or hard to work with molding plastics. Prosthetic that can help actors get more into the stance and feel of their character. Especially now that strides are being made in the materials that are being used in the printers, there are more opportunities than ever to work 3D printed pieces into designs. I feel like this is also helping to bridge the gap between media and costumes, two departments in the theatrical world that could benefit greatly from combined work.
I am completely mesmerized by the beauty of the costumes in those photos. It is even crazier that they were 3D printed. But just looking at this from a design perspective, that style of design is just so beautiful and intricate, it's definitely something I would want to wear, obviously not casually, but just for the sake of wearing it. This new style of clothes making may actually usher in a new style of fashion. These geometric looks may start to take over formal clothing. As for theater, I can imagine how helpful this could have been for the Wiz. The pattern of the dresses reminded me of the Wiz's media. If the yellow brick road, for example, were to be dressed in that fractal pattern, it would have looked so good. Or at least would have been more cohesive with the media.
This isn't the first time I've heard about 3d printing and its applications in Costume Design and Technology, but it is exciting that its application is becoming more mainstream. It is fantastic that there is yet another industry where 3d printing is making a positive difference in the fabrication process. I certainly can see all sorts of potential for rapid prototyping of different costumes and quick mockups of design ideas without a huge amount of time investment. Obviously there certainly is a new skillset of computer software skills that are necessary to harness this kind of fabrication technology effectively, but I certainly have confidence that the people who understand the impact this kind of technology can have will have the drive and motivation to overcome its learning curve. The dresses in the slideshow certainly were fairly memorizing, if not appearing a little bit clunky. Now with more and more multi color and stronger 3d printing materials coming online, the potential and flexibility is becoming ever greater for designers and technicians alike.
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