Clothes and technology share a surprisingly rich history. Mechanized textile production helped ignite the Industrial Revolution. Punch cards, which facilitated our interaction with computers for decades, were first developed in the 18th century to control textile looms. Which is to say, the idea that we might someday 3-D print our clothes isn’t nearly as wacky as it sounds.
Danit Peleg is the latest designer to explore the potential. For her graduate project at Shenkar, an art and design school in Israel, she developed a five-piece fashion collection that can be produced entirely with an at-home 3-D printer.
After experimenting unsuccessfully with the hard plastic filaments typically used in consumer 3-D printers, Peleg found a strong, flexible variety called FilaFlex. Paired with new cellular structures being devised by 3-D printing researchers, the material allowed Peleg to create “lace-like textiles” that she could work with “just like cloth.” She printed them using a Witbox—a $1,800 machine.
But Peleg’s collection shows the variety of looks that are possible with the technique. Some of the dresses are unmistakably cutting-edge, their complex triangles clinging to the models like scaffolding on futuristic skyscrapers. But some of Peleg’s other garments are very nearly normal. Two more conventional looks include a black dress with subtle, tasteful topography and a long black-and-white striped skirt paired with a teal cropped top. These look different than they would if made with more traditional textiles, but the difference isn’t arresting. In public, these outfits might not even turn heads, which in a sense is an impressive accomplishment for a piece of 3-D printed couture.
Still, for Peleg, the project was most importantly an experiment in accessibility, and in that respect, it was a success. “I really enjoyed the fact that I could create without intermediaries,” she writes. “I could design my own textiles and manufacture my own clothes, all from my own home.”
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