3D Printing and the Fashion Industry

With September being the launch of New York Fashion Week, we thought what better way to celebrate than with a blog about 3D printing uses in fashion. While 3D printing has been used for decades by architects and scientists to create models, this technology is headed toward revolutionizing many industries including the fashion industry. In fact, designers are already beginning to experiment with 3D printing.

There are companies today that are printing fashion accessories like jewelry, shoes, bags and sunglasses. While fashion and 3D printing have come together rather recently, this alliance is off to a very promising start. A clothing company in San Francisco called Continuum is one of the first to create wearable 3D printed clothing. This company allows its customers to design their own swimwear on its website by specifying the shape of their bodies and measurements. Then the company uses nylon to print each unique order. Without question, the future of fashion and 3D printing is very bright indeed as consumers enjoy being able to play a prominent role in designing the clothing they wear.

Printing Accessories at Home

While it may be some time before 3D printing technology allows the average person to print his or her own wardrobe, now that 3D printing machines are available to consumers, simple fashion accessories can be made at home like bracelets, cellphone cases, bags, and even fake nails! The mass appeal and marketability of being able to custom-design one's own clothing is certainly present since most consumers love the idea of wearing a one-of-a-kind piece they designed and printed themselves.

It's yet to be seen if 3D printing will disrupt mass fashion production because in order for that to happen, the technology will have to be affordable and more efficient than the manufacturing methods used today. But there's little doubt that new fashion brands and young designers can use 3D printing to offer custom-ordered clothing and accessories to get their names out there in the very competitive fashion industry.

Order Your Own 3D Printing Materials

The team at Gizmo Dorks is fascinated with 3D printing technology and focused on bringing new, incredible things to our community. We are excited to offer a range of 3D printing materials that run the gamut from PLA filament to ABS filament. Place an order and start printing at home today!