Two years ago Danit Peleg held a great presentation at the Global Female Leaders 2016. We had the honor to meet her again and to ask her about the developments in 3D-printing. How has the fashion industry and the technology changed?
Danit Peleg is a Fashion Designer best known for her 3D printed work. In 2015, Danit’s 3D printed graduate collection titled Liberty Leading the People made major waves in the global fashion and tech worlds. The seminal first collection includes 5 looks which were entirely created using desktop 3D printers that can be used from home.
In the summer of 2016, Danit was invited to design a 3D printed dress for the headlining dancer at one of the most moving segments of the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympics Games.
The designer’s latest venture is her second RTW collection titled The Birth of Venus, which includes the world’s very first 3D printed garment available for purchase online – a 3DP bomber jacket.
Danit believes that advancements in 3D printing technology could revolutionize fashion design and manufacturing processes, and is working closely with different partners to make this a reality. The designer is especially proud of having a creative collaboration with Gerber Technology.
Danit is a TED speaker and has been featured among many world-renowned publications including Forbes, Vogue, Elle, The New York Times & The Wall Street Journal. Danit is a graduate of Shenkar College of Engineering and Design and is based in Tel Aviv, Israel.
About 3D-printing
What is 3D printing?
3D Printing is a method that allows you to create physical 3D objects of complex structures, based on a digital model.
How does it work?
The 3D object is created using additive manufacturing – the material prints out layer by layer until the solid object is complete, allowing you to achieve almost any structure and scale (depending on the size of the printer), from printing buildings to cars, fashion to toys, home decor etc.
Improvements in the 3D-technology
Which achievements in fashion did the technology bring in the last years?
There have been many achievements made in fashion – we have seen major improvements in the speed of the newer models being created – three years ago it took me three times as long to print a single garment than it does today for instance. The filament options are also improving and growing in variety, especially appropriate for printing garments for flexibility and comfort.
If the technology does improve significantly the benefits will be huge — less shipping costs, more personalization, democratization of design. But, most importantly, there will be an alternative for more sustainable materials that you can recycle right after.
One major achievement of mine last year was in releasing my first – as well as the world’s very first – customizable 3D printed RTW garment for sale online. I believe this was a very big step forward in the fashion tech world, bringing this technology to a wider audience, by giving the customers the opportunity to design a unique 3D printed garment and owning a piece of history. I have so many ideas on how I can help push this technology to the next level, one of the projects I’m now working on is creating a filament that will print 3DP textiles closer to the feel of real fabric.
Developments in the Fashion Industry
How is 3D printing changing the fashion industry? Would you say it is a real revolution?
I do believe 3D printing is revolutionizing many industries right now – specifically to fashion, I believe it is similar to that of the digitalization of the music industry – we developed from buying physical records or CDs from physical stores to being able to download and share digital music files online, on any of our devices. This is just the start of the digitalization of the fashion industry – we’re already seeing that today you can download open-sourced designs and print them out for yourself, imagine in the near future that instead of needing to go to your favorite stores you’ll be able to download designs from these same brands and print them in the comfort of your own home.
Other ways that 3D printing is changing the fashion industry is in providing a more sustainable alternative, which offers several major benefits:
1
Designers can print to measure which allows for zero-waste – something incredibly revolutionary as a major issue in the apparel industry is the high percentage of waste (both in raw fabrics and final products). This also means not having to hold any inventory since everything is made to measure and downloadable – we are applying this in our business today with my customizable 3D printed jackets – a limited edition of 100 jackets which are printed to order.
2
Following the above comment, 3D printed textiles are created by plastic polymers that can easily be recycled – which also helps to reduce waste. Imagine cutting up a dress you have, putting it into a small machine which breaks it down further and creates new filament (these machines already exist today and can fit in your home), which you can then use to print a completely new garment.
3
Democratization of design: anyone can design something unique and share it with the world – like a viral t-shirt! This is becoming increasingly appealing as customers are becoming more and more curious about the origins and sustainability of their clothing. It also is where we are heading in terms of customization, which will be a main focus in the future of design, allowing for customers to create and own one-of-a-kind pieces.
Thank you for the post! 3D printing certainly has a lot of scope in fashion industry mostly because it provides lot of designing flexibility and i am sure in the near future there will be many fabrics/materials available that can be 3D printed.