Innovative technology in fashion: a common language.
Rapporteur: Ilenia Alesse
Author :Svetlana Rotaru
Florence, April 2014
INDEX OF CHAPTERS
1
Introduction 1.1
2
p.3
Innovative technology in fashion
p.3
Bibliographical review
p.5
2.1
p.5
3D Printing
2.1.1. Applications of 3D printing to high fashion
p.6
2.1.2. How 3D printers work
p.13
2.1.3. Where it's possible to print in 3D in Italy
p.14
2.1.4. 3D weaving
p.15
2.1.5. Investing in 3D printing
p.16
2.1.6. 3D printing trade fairs
p.17
2.2.
Raw cut
p.18
2.3.
Heat sealing
p.20
2.3.1. Historical notes on heat sealing
3.
p.21
Project presentation 3.1.
Body scanner
p.28
3.1.1. The body scanner process for Fashion Design
Digital tailoring
3.3.
Capsule collection: Inspiration
p.34
Capsule collection presentation
p.35
4. Design discussion 4.1.
5. 6. 7. 8.
2
p.29
3.2.
3.3.1.
p.28
3D SOLIDO interview with Filippo Moroni
Conclusion Appendix Bibliography Web references
p.31
p.38 p.38 p.45 p.48 p.56 p.57
1. Introduction  1.1 Innovative technology in fashion The topic to be addressed aims to focus on the theme of innovative technology in fashion, providing several examples as scenography of the work performed in a fashion collection. Starting from the design of a collection capsule, one of the objectives was to provide a system for creating not only a collection but also a system of production of garments with technical materials and avant-garde techniques that communicate the transformation of an idea into an innovative finished product. The objective of this design, accompanied by the collection capsule, is understood as how to change the current design system and the method of selling via eco-technological materials, applied to the needs of a female clientele, both present and future, that is
becoming
increasingly emancipated and with less and less time available for "traditional" shopping. A dialogue between what we are wearing on a daily basis and the most advanced technologies applied to the fashion sector. A circuit that allows the creation of garments by mixing art, innovative techniques such as body scanners, digital tailoring and 3D printing with technological but eco-sustainable materials. The end purpose is to produce a "Fast Couture" tailored design which facilitates the maintaining of a high level of attention on the aesthetics of the garment but, at the same time, streamlines and shortens the steps of the design and working with respect to traditional methods. This is because today, the end user has increasingly less time available, increasingly high expectations and is much more critical, informed and careful than in the past regarding quality and sustainability of the product. The atmosphere of the capsule collection takes us back to the aesthetics of the futuristic architecture with organic forms. technical materials borrowed from the world of sport (such as for example, neoprene), thermo adhesive taping that replaces stitching, eco friendly  
3 
details in 3D Printing, body scanners and digital tailoring that interact together to emphasise and create the garment through the individuality and uniqueness of the person that will eventually wear it.
4   
2. Bibliographic review
2.1. 3D Printing. What is it? 3D printing represents the natural evolution of the 2D printer and offers a real reproduction of a model, in a three-dimensional object created with 3D modelling software. In addition, it is considered a form of additive manufacturing through which are created threedimensional objects formed from layers of materials which, as the printer works, stratify one on top of the other to form the raw material and then the actual object. In addition, they offer the possibility of printing and assemble parts composed of different materials with various physical and mechanical properties in a single construction process. Advanced 3D printing technologies create models that emulate very closely the appearance and functionality of prototypes. A three-dimensional printer operates using a 3D file transmitted via computer creating a series of cross section portions. Each portion is printed one on top of the other to create the actual object. Although rapid prototyping dominates current uses, 3D printers offer great potential for the production of applications. The technology is also used in the sectors of jewellery, shoemaking, industrial design, fashion, architecture and in the automotive, aerospace and medical industries.
2.1.1. Applications of 3D printing to high fashion In addition to the applications most closely linked to food and medicine, it is obviously creativity that is driving the development of 3D printing. In this regard, a great deal of
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influence stems from the world of high fashion, the area most aimed at experimentation and with less focus on the aspect of the sartorial tradition of "classical" vision. In particular, the Dutch stylist Iris van Herpen1 (former student of Alexander McQueen), who works on the boundary between fashion, art and technology together with colleagues Daniel Widrig and Isaie Bloch, has created new three-dimensional models with materials ranging from plastic to rubber. As Iris van Herpen states:
"I felt liberated from any possible physical limitation. Suddenly I felt any type of complex structure seemed possible".
The practical creation of clothes is entrusted to Materialise, a Belgian/Dutch 3D printing company. For several years Van Herpen has created sculpture-clothes using digital technology, employing solid and semi-solid materials, creating spectacular reinforcements, shells, which over time evolve increasingly towards an ideal of fabric garment.
PHOTO 1 Iris van Herpen’s mostamazing “Escapism Couture” dress and “Crystallization” 3D print top &skirt (source www.pinterest.com)
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Her latest collection is called Biopiracy and is made with a completely flexible material created from a thermoplastic polyurethane composition printed with 3D technology. The fabrics, extremely soft but structured, have varying thicknesses according to the indiscretion of the designer,
"they amplify the movements of the body". (www.lastampa.it)
PHOTO 2 Iris van Herpen Collections Fall Winter 2014-15 collection (source www.lastampa.it)
In the image above and below: High Fashion Bikini. It is called N12, it was signed by Continuum1 and it is one of the first wearable garments printed in 3D. Packaged in nylon with a thickness of 0.7 mm it also seems to be even more comfortable to wear when it is wet, thanks to the properties of the material.
1
Fashion label, Continuum Fashion is at the cutting edge of creating personal objects with digital technologies. Mary Huang is one of the co-founders of Continuum Fashion along with Jenna Fizel.
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PHOTO 3 N12:3D Printed Bikini (source http://www.shapeways.com/n12_bikini).
At VicenzaOro, one of the most important jewellery trade fairs, Bijouets is making a name for itself, a collection of jewels created thanks to the use of 3D printers, a form of experimentation that allows the low cost forging of the jewels of tomorrow.
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PHOTO 4 Creation of a bracelet using Professional 3D Printing (source www.bijouets-italia.com)
PHOTO 5 Shanghai bracelets, designer Selvaggia Armani (source www.bijouets-italia.com.)
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Aggressive and futuristic shoes, those of the stylist Janina Alleyne, that are designed and printed entirely in 3D. Inspiration takes its cue from the animal world. The sole, thanks to new production techniques, is integrated with the rest of the shoe, a characteristic that has allowed the designer to be audacious with lines and details. (Wired.it)
PHOTO 6 3D Shoes Janina Alleyne (source www.pianetadonna.it)
PHOTO 7 3D Shoes Janina Alleyne (source www.pianetadonna.it)
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Between hacking and continuous attempts, the culture of the makers2 has also been able to create the first evening dress made with a 3D printer. This is a mesh garment printed with a rubber-like material similar to black leather but much softer and more flexible. It is designed to cover perfectly the shapes of the burlesque diva Dita Von Teese3. The stylists Michael Schmidt and Francis Bitonti printed in 3D (employing the Shapeways service) the 17 parts that make up the clothing which were then sewn together by hand. It's true, it's not woven, but it's pretty close and the digital process has allowed Schmidt and Bitonti to create a "made to measure" dress in the widest sense of the term: a dress literally created around the forms of the wearer.
PHOTO 8 3D Printed dress for burlesque dancer Dita von Teese (source www.dezeen.com)
2 The
makers are a cultural contemporary movement which represents an extension on a technological base of the traditional world of DIY. The typical interests of the makers are engineering creations such as robotic realisations, electronic apparatus and 3D printing equipment.
3
Dita von Teese, pseudonym of Heather Renée Sweet (Rochester, 28 September 1972), burlesque show girl. She is considered a fashion icon with her vintage and sophisticated style.
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2.1.2. How 3D printers work The philosophy of the two inventors, BrePettis and ZachHoeken was simple: "if you can draw something, you can also produce it" The above details affirm the two founders of Makerbot, promoters of the Academy project, thanks to which every American school will have a three‐dimensional printer. Something that is changing the history of production. The world of objects, sublimated through a process of three-dimensional graphic digitalisation, stored in a database through 3D printers, becomes analogue again with production on demand. But, the question is how do 3D printers work? In detail, they exploit CAD at an industrial level, a scan of the object to be reproduced using special laser equipment.
Using a 3D
image of an object, in fact, this type of printer is able to process the dimensional parameters necessary to reproduce it, constructing it from the base to the other layers, level after level, firing the material through a special nozzle. Millimetric precision and diversification of the polymers (now available in various colours) make 3D printers an object of desire. There are various materials that come in the form of cylinders or granules. One of the most used standards is the FusedDepositionModeling (FmD), where the granules are fused and laminated at a high temperature. Another standard is the Metal Laser Sintering (Dmsl), in which metal polymers are used. The latest innovation is the 3D printer that prints carbon fibre (called Mark One). At Ces in Las Vegas 2014, BrePettis personally announced three new models of 3D printers proposed in three different formats, all with a mobile smart feature: indication of low cartridge via tablet or Smartphones, via dedicated app. Incidentally, at the Markerbot stand one of 3D printers was printing custom marshmallow flavoured sweets.
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The objective? To bring 3D printers within the reach of users and consumers: the advantage of Adobe is, in fact, that if your model has a structural problem such as, for example, a section of the object with a wall that is too thin, the system will automatically self correct, generating the structures necessary to adequately sustain the support In fact Windows 8.1 has already installed the native support for 3D printing
2.1.3. Where it's possible to print in 3D in Italy Yesterday the prices of 3D printers were inaccessible to most. The alternative was to go to specialist shops: in the USA MakerBot of New York, in Europe iMakr of London. In Italy, in Rome, there's 3D ltaly, while in Milan you can go to 3D Systems exclusively for professional tasks that include prototyping and possible production. Alternatively there is 3D Hubs, a new service model that exploits an international network and is also active in Italy. Simply send the files to be printed in 3D to the closest Hub and in less than three days you can have the product, to be collected at the printing location, or have it sent to your home. Another point is that, thanks to the beneficial wave of open source4, with Sharebot, WASP and Kentstrapper - The maker family, 3D printers are now available with more affordable prices. Turning the tables, now there is Amazon that has opened an entire section dedicated to 3D printers and consumables. Operating instantaneously from idea to product, this technology reduces the processing times and experiments with forms that were difficult to achieve with traditional systems. 3D Printing is an additive process that transforms a 3D CAD file directly into a solid object: these technologies, together with hardware and software "tools" that are easy to use even by the less experienced, open up opportunities that were unimaginable just a few months ago in 4 Open
source code, in computer science, indicates a software whose rights holders allow and encourage the free study and the making of changes by other programmers.
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terms of 360° creativity, for socialisation, for new forms of work; they integrate seamlessly with the main online technologies, they are elements of democratisation and appeal to receptive minds, willing to change, creative in the broadest sense, of young people in particular. 3D printing is certainly part of the engine of revolution, if it is true that even Barack Obama sponsors its dissemination and development. No limit to creativity. This is the "primordial" philosophy of 3D printing technology, the new frontier of design that overcomes the barriers imposed by everyday life and by massification. But the concept of 3D printing that is opening up to the global market seems to be defined in a simplified model: we talk about 3D printing in terms of self-productions, i.e. a one-room factory where the object is created, designed and made. It is an activity that seems to ignore the importance of value added. But, if this model wants to be truly competitive in the long term also for a micro-enterprise, it must not be interpreted only in terms of speed, versatility and accessibility but also in terms of skills, strategies, resources: in a word, the ability to become entrepreneurial and thus to do business. In this context, 3D Printing is engaged as an instrument at the service of master craftsmen, of professionals on the one side able to create and on the other to search for beauty through technical refinement, to transform "know how" into art. VicenzaOroWinter. (source mediterranews.org)
2.1.4. 3D weaving The most interesting aspects are the slow invisible revolutions within the framework of the three-dimensional weaving. Those that are called technical fabrics (the uppers of the shoes, certain waterproofs, bags but also the coatings of seats, the insides of helmets and even certain vascular prostheses) all stem from processes of weaving 3D. The technique itself is not particularly new, dating back to the early '90s, but has since developed slowly, evolving 14   
with a phenomenon of hacking of the individual frames that, with minor changes, are able to weave increasingly complex and versatile structures. It was realised early that 3D weaving allowed both the production of pieces and already formed woven items. These included car seats, the first applications for orthopaedics and shoes, it was a short step. The Nike Flyknit running shoes (and especially the FreeFlyknit model with its upper that ends up wrapping the ankle like a sock) is a more evident progression of 3D weaving. There has been work on the shape, on the design, on the thickness of the fibre but in the end, the shoe we are running with is a wonderfully hacked car seat. 3D weaving means working easily objects that have a certain form, but it also means producing fabrics in several layers and with a distance that is extremely variable between the fibres. This means generally breathable fabric, fairly thick, on the whole bright and somewhat rigid. The possibilities are endless and the process that leads to a new product is a true path of "discovery", often punctuated with errors, some of which end up being fortunate coincidences. (source www.wired.it)
2.1.5. Investing in 3D Printing If in the next few months the presence of 3D printers grows in the industrial sector and also in the domestic field, investing in 3D companies could become a very interesting option. The new TrackerVoncert certificate on a "3D Printing" basket reserves for investors the opportunity to participate in a possible take-off of the field of 3D Printing. A market of 6.5 billion by 2019 According to the analysis conducted by Wohlers Associateds, the area of 3D printing grew in 2011 at a rate of 26.4%. According to analysts, the sector will register double-digit growth in the coming years, so much so that by 2015, the volume of business generated in the world
 
15 
by sales of products and services for 3D printing will be equal to $ 3.7 billion, which will grow to more than 6.5 billion in 2019. (source: Wohlers Report 2012).
2.1.6. 3D Printing trade fairs
PHOTO 9 The most important exhibition of 3D Printing - 3D PRINTING SHOW London (sorce: http://www.demotix.com)
PHOTO 10 In Italy and Mecspe 3D PrintHub in Parma. (source: http://3dprinthub.it)
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2.2. Raw cut In the assembly of a garment or a heat sealed detail, the raw cut allows the locking of fibres at the profiles of the fabrics, thus avoiding the traditional finishing operations. The advantage is there is a saving in terms of fabric used, a reduction of the shims, due to the folds necessary for assembly of the garment and a notable gain in terms of lightness and wearability. The use of natural fabrics allows creative and stylistic choices that are much wider than before: a possible effect of fraying in fact becomes a purely stylistic choice and not due to technical limitations. On synthetic fibres, combined with laser or ultrasound cuts, it makes the profiles perfectly uniform also allowing a minimum thickness and a perfect stability. (Source: Bond-In, from technology to fashion, p.54) The raw cut is a type of detail that defines contemporary and minimal garments, for an elegance reduced to the essential, almost as if the garment had been retouched at the last minute to give an impression of not-defined. Before raw cutting was only on leather, on which it is still widely used because it gives a very "decorative" shabby appearance to garments while we've now found it on the catwalks for a few years, paired with names that represent new styles such as Rag&Bone, Rodarte and Alex Wang, but also alongside historic names such as that of Balenciaga.
 
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Photo11 THE SPUTNIK GIRLS Rei Kawakubo Comme des Garçons Fall 2012 (www.thesputnikgirls.wordpress.com)
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2.3. Heat sealing Heat sealing is an innovative system of the assembly of two or more fabrics/materials, using thermo adhesives or ultrasound. It was originally tested on articles of clothing for functional requirements, such as the waterproofing of fabrics and seams of working clothes or for military use. In more recent years, it has been developed and implemented purely in technical-sports areas and in the field of underwear and lingerie. In the '80s, the introduction of a more technical sporting language in fashion allowed the movement of knowledge towards the field of couture related to this technology, allowing a slow experimental approach of fashion to heat sealing that then allowed us to understand the real potential of innovation. This technology has revolutionised the design methodology linked to a garment and to the modes that allow its production and decoration; thanks to heat sealing it is possible to replace seams, create new types of couplings (combining materials/fabrics that it was unthinkable to use together with traditional techniques) to enhance the structure and tactile perception of fabrics. What heat sealing is now facing is that delicate transition from technology with aesthetic values of a technical nature to technology that is acquired and ready to make product and fashion designer creative experiments feasible. Heat sealing, that become maximum expression and working of an innovative and technical garment, now needs to find a more sober and sartorial aesthetic language. If the technical innovation of heat sealing is not combined with research in terms of aesthetics, of elegance, of accuracy of materials production, it won’t be possible to create the uniqueness of garments and of the brand. It is therefore necessary to merge accuracy, details of quality and tailoring to a purely technological vision that alone would produce imbalance between reason (comfort) and emotion (aesthetics).  
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2.3.1. Historical notes on heat sealing Historically heat sealing draws its origins from an exchange of knowledge between the two different worlds, that of the chemist and that of military clothing, travel and work. Macintosh, Scottish chemist and inventor straddled the industrial revolutions (bridging the second half of the Eighteenth Century and the following century), already conceiver of dyes and of transformation of iron into steel, created in 1823 the first waterproof coats, combining two parts of fabric with a rubber glue and thus setting the scene for the development of the technology.
As a result, it was necessary to waterproof the garments without making them particularly heavy or bulky and heat sealing made new applications and experiments possible both from a work and from a military perspective.
During the First World War, garments were introduced with heat sealed parts which also permitted operation and impermeability in critical climate conditions.
The first experiments in the field of variation of consistency, structure and perception of certain fabrics, pairing them with others, started between the '60s and '70s when Dupont in an attempt to solve the technical limitations of poor transpiration of the Nylon5 combining it with materials with different characteristics. Another unusual working of heat sealing, that in fact came about in those same years, was taping, initially used on the seams of garments to make them waterproof through the application of synthetic belts.
5 The
term nylon indicates, in particular, the family of aliphatic polyamides, mainly used as textile fiber to produce small items.
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PHOTO 12 Source: Bond-In, from technology to fashion, p.27
In the '70s - '80s, a number of Japanese designers instead began to experiment with the first ultrasound sealing operations. This was followed by the Italian path linked to heat sealing, which, though mainly applied in sports areas, began to be applied and tested in the world of fashion thanks to the creation of sports collections signed by important designers. In fact in Italy there was a particular interaction between those that produce technically within the chain and designers of international renown.  
21 
From the 90'S onwards, heat sealing began to be used in the processing of details, including by designers such as Versace, Dolce&Gabbana and Extè. Extè in particular, for example, introduced into prét-à-porter a purely technical style, heat sealing profiles and details. Others, however, such as the company of Marithé Frangois Girbaud, make use of the sealing of functional objects, applying it to details or replacing it at the seams of pockets.
PHOTO 13 Source: Bond-In, from technology to fashion, p.29
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PHOTO 14 Source: Bond-In, from technology to fashion, p.30
Continuous research is applied to this technology, both in the technical-sports field applied to fashion through the many aesthetic solutions such as the replacement of the seams in garments, the creation of decorations with effects that cannot be achieved through traditional methods of sewing, and for the joining of materials that, precisely because of their technical characteristics, do not lend themselves to traditional coupling.
 
23 
PHOTO 15 Source: Bond-In, from technology to fashion, p.31
One very important and functional development of heat sealing, in relatively recent times, has been the application of this technology to the field of underwear and lingerie. The revolution in this sector has in substance touched comfort and the wearability of garments, which are in direct contact with the skin. In the first decade of 2000, in fact, completely heat welded fashion garments began to be made and outstanding designers parading garments made with this technique were becoming increasingly numerous.
24   
PHOTO 16 Source: Bond-In, from technology to fashion, p.32
Thanks to heat sealing we have witnessed the birth of an innovative and non-conventional creative universe that offers new solutions to design. Solutions that only through a path of great interaction between technique and creativity will bring to light new ways of conceiving fashion. The aim today is the search for a new aesthetic system, a reference model that will transform the use of this "technology" into formal beauty.
 
25 
PHOTO 17 Source: Bond-In, from technology to fashion, p.33
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3.
Design Presentation 3.1. Body scanner
In the future of fashion the body scanner6 could become a key technology. This refers to imaging of the entire body used for airport security screening. It allows body inspection, aimed at identifying weapons and explosives, without any physical contact by security personnel. Albert Charpentier7 applied a millimetric wave scanner in order to acquire the measurements of the body to create a system to test virtual clothes to best accommodate the requirements of customers.
PHOTO 18 Body scanning. Image from the personal archive in collaboration with the solido 3D company.
6 Body
scanner Technique that allows acquisition of the customer's physical data.
7
Albert Charpentier. US Electronic Engineer. Currently responsible for the technology department of IntelliFit (of which he is also a co-founder), an American company that manufactures body scanners for the recording of the measurements of clothes of a person, one of the technologies used for virtual dressing rooms.
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3.1.1. The body scanner process for fashion design This is one of the techniques that allows acquisition of the customer's physical data. The customer's body shape is recorded through the detection of points in space in the form of a point cloud that creates a triangular mesh.
PHOTO 19 Point cloud that creates the triangular mesh
PHOTO 20 Body Cloud (Source: http://www.solido3d.it/)
A 3D file is obtained that can be edited with common 3D modelling software or reproduced with digital fabrication techniques, specifically with 3D printers (source www.solido3d.it) 28   
PPHOTO 21 Digital process for construction of the garment after scanning of the body. (source http://jorgeandesther.com)
A second technology based on other active sensors is also used for measurement of the outer surface of the human body. In this case, 3D cameras use special CMOS8 sensors where each pixel measures the distance from the part of the surface exposed. The Body scanner is connected interactively to the 3D simulation of garments and to the CAD software By scanning the human body with the 3D body scanner, the exact measurements of the customer are recorded who then becomes part of the process. In a few seconds, the scanner generates a scanatar: a virtual mannequin that reflects the measurements/sizes of the customer, who will rapidly obtain the cut in the perfect measurement for them. At the same time, a complete process takes place in the
8 CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). Photodiode sensors that collect light, capturing the image and converting it into an electrical signal (the light is then transformed into digital information).
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background at high speed. Using Cad modelling the model of the garment is created according to the taste of the customer which is selected, loaded and transferred to the software for 3D display on the scanatar of the customer. The model is stitched in 3D, automatically, there and then. The result is computerised in a few minutes. The process of manual measurement can be replaced by a digital process in a virtual atelier.
3.2. Digital tailoring This is the process for the development and construction of the pattern, of the shapes, the drape of the fabric, creating clothing for a specific customer that has a 3D body scan.
PHOTO 22 modelling of the pieces of the garment on the virtual body of the customer. (source http://jorgeandesther.com)
This is a delicate operating process with a graphic base that for some time now has been encoded into a series of geometric CAD development steps for type models, to be changed from time to time to translate the garment into a real object. The graphical 30
process, especially if changes have been made to the type model, must be followed by a practical test to evaluate its fit. The progress of computer graphics today offer valid solutions to facilitate this evaluation, at least in the early stages of the process. There are softwares, for example, that through the simplification of long and repetitive operations, allow the reduction of modelling construction time; in addition, the knowledge and experience of modelers is capitalised on.
PHOTO 23 like the 3D Plasma of Crea (source www.creasolution.it)
Others that allow the three-dimensional simulation of models in real time. In this way, models that have been developed with CAD may be sewn and worn virtually on a virtual manikin to verify fit and yield of the fabric, according to its characteristics and the parameters required by the designer. This allows the realistic displaying of the dress, not only in a static position but also in the dynamic phase, in order to verify the visual appearance and the behaviour of the various materials under the influence of factors such as gravity and the shape of the model. The development of a model in various sizes also
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follows very precise geometrical rules able to satisfy a graduation of the measurements that always ensures a correct fit.
PHOTO 24 The Vidya application of Assyst Bullmer (source www.creasolution.it)
Still others that offer CAD solutions for the packing industry: digitisation of patterns, modification, development of the components of the model; the creation of position points with programs that can handle both printing and automatic cutting.
PHOTOS 25 Eurostaff‐Systems Tailoring software. ( source www.creasolution.it)
There are many solutions. It is important to know how to choose the best and most appropriate one for the Design to be undertaken.
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3.3. Capsule collection Inspiration AquaTower (Skyscraper) of Chicago is a skyscraper built on the shores of Lake Michigan. It is the highest structure of the world designed by a woman, the architect Jeanne Gang9, foundress of Studio Gang Architects. The skyscraper is a true prototype of sustainability intended to make history. A piece of daring architecture as an imposing sculpture. Its heart is composed of a glass box with protruding undulating concrete surfaces, similar to ripples or waves. Just like each wave in the lake, each flat surface in Water is unique and as such, the edifice is particularly complicated. This hotel is striking due to its imposing visual impact. A fitting tribute, considering the position of the building. The AquaTower is composed of 82 floors, occupied by apartments and hotel that offer an exceptional panorama, also over the new Millennium Park. AquaTower is also eco-sustainable: Studio Gang designed the skyscraper so that the stained glass windows would be highly visible to birds thus avoiding the risk of their impact against the building. AquaTower is awaiting the LEED certification10, the highest recognition of the sustainable buildings and already boasts a Proggy Award11 from the animal welfare organisation Peta for its special windows able to repel flocks of migratory birds.
9 Jeanne
Gang (born 1964 in Belvidere, Illinois) is an American architect. She leads Studio Gang Architects, a Chicago-based architecture and design firm. Gang's projects include Aqua, an 82-story mixed-use high-rise, and SOS Children's Villages Lavezzorio Community Center, a 16,800-square-foot (1,560 m2) foster care community centre on Chicago's South Side. 10 LEED (acronym of The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) measurement standard for evaluation of the environmentally sustainable constructions. 11 Proggy Awards, awards for the results achieved in companies, innovative and animal-friendly products.
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3.3.1. Capsule collection presentation
PHOTO26
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4.
Design discussion
In order to better understand the evolution, operation and the different applications in fashion design and the techniques until now presented, an interview was held with a leading company in the field, SOLIDO 3D, which has long been involved in providing consultancy for design, engineering, 3D modelling, custom made solutions, non conventional materials and processes to designers, architects, stage designers, artists and communication agencies. Specifically Mr. Filippo Moroni was interviewed, partner at Solido 3D.
4.1. 3D Solido interview with Filippo Moroni Question: How is 3D printing perceived in Italy? Answer: It is perceived as a novelty, there is a lot of hope that it will be a technology of the future. It is perceived as tool created for small companies that need to propose novelty and research, and is a very useful tool for designers and for creative operators in general. It is used to perform ergonomic dimensional verification. It is perceived as magic. People who don't know about the technology of 3D printing perceive it as something magic, almost divine.
Question 1: To what extent will 3D printing be developed in Italy ? Answer: Greatly. There is still a lot of work to be done, I don't believe that the technologies of today will be the technologies of the future. I believe that the technologies of the future will be the photopolymer12 and sintering13. These are the two most widely used technologies
12
A photopolymer is a photosensitive compound. If irradiated with radiation (usually UV) it produces a reaction.
13
Process in which the particles of a solid material in the form of powder, subjected to heating, come together and seal, generating a piece of compact material.
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today and non patented. Within the space of 2-3 years photopolymer 3D printers will be launched onto the market, both the laser and projected light types
Question 2: With what speed is digital fabrication being developed in the consumer market? Answer: Very rapidly. Consider that this year the best performance on the American stock exchange was achieved by the company 3D SYSTEM14 that is a leading company in the production of machinery for three-dimensional printing. Growth is very important. What percentage do we hold in the market? Very low. A very small phenomenon but experience very large expansion.
Question 3: Does 3D printing fall within the sphere of sustainable energy and thus the reduction of the consumption of resources and the related costs? Answer: No. 3D printing moves those costs. Today we are talking about a centralised mass production item. Tomorrow, thanks to 3D printers, this will be a decentralised, non-mass, but custom item. From the purely resource/energy used point of view I believe that consumption is the same or greater. The only difference is that there are several advantages. In particular, goods are produced when they are needed and not to be sold. As such, it is no longer about stocks of products in shops. The chain: the distance between the place of production and the place of consumption is very short. In theory it can be developed in the same place. Ex: print and effect home printing or at a small FabLab15.
It is a process that is much used in powder metallurgy and in the processing of ceramic materials to producing products or components of various types. (source www.treccani.it Enciclopedia della Scienza e della Tecnica (Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology) 2008 by Andrea Ciccioli)
14
3D Systems is the leading provider of systems for 3D printing, for rapid prototyping and for direct production, but also of software and materials that transform a 3D design into a real object.
15
Fab Lab (fabrication laboratory) is a small business that offers custom digital fabrication with the 3D printer, A fab lab is able to realise, in a flexible and semi-automatic, a wide range of objects. These include technological products generally considered to be the exclusive preserve of mass production.
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Question 4: What will be the impact of digital fabrication in traditional manufacturing sectors? Answer: Very high. 3D printing is one of the digital fabrication technologies. Is the right word to use digital fabrication or additive fabrication16? 3D printing is a technical specification of 3D printing, but together with 3D there is stereolithography, sintering, photopolymers, and polijet products There are a dozen technologies today available to print in 3D. 3D printing summarises them all. It is then more appropriate to call it "additive fabrication" as it counterposes subtractive fabrication. 17. When automation enters the small companies, this will be considered a great industrial revolution. The first revolution was the invention of frames for the construction of fabrics. The second revolution was the invention of the assembly line. The third is currently taking place with the massification of local consumption. As such large-scale centralised industry is tending to disappear and small-scale delocalised industry is being developed.
Question 5: To what extent can digital fabrication and artisan "know how", specifically that of "Made in Italy", work together? Answer: A great deal. I believe that this is the future of Made in Italy. Our design (Digital foundries) will in fact be used for this, to bring together all the technologies of production and all the traditional knowledge. This will result in changing of the tools and artisans will no longer be doing everything by hand but instead will increasingly rely on machines and therefore on the technology that they contain. But machines alone cannot create crafted items. Thus the machines do what they are told to do, and craftsmen become "techno
16
The additive fabrication process is a union of the materials to make objects from 3D computer models, usually one layer on top of the other, as opposed to the subtractive fabrication methodologies. 17 A procedure that is inverse to that used in traditional fabrication systems (subtractive production), in which the object is formed by cutting and drilling of a block of material. (www.soiel.it)
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craftsmen" through use of innovative techniques such as 3D printing, laser cutting, the CNC milling machine, the weaving machine or digital printing of fabrics. Today there is a new sentiment that digital printing on fabrics will be carried out on request. This also applies to cutting; when we think of laser cutting means, this implies the removal of the pattern and scissors, proceeding only to laser cutting. The 2D file with the model for the customer is the same for everyone or it can be different for each individual. As such, all the measurements are provided, the computer updates the cutting file, the file in turn gives instructions to the laser program to cut the pieces that will ultimately be sewn by hand. Still today there is no system of automatic fabric stitching, just superficial working of the button holes and buttons but in any case this is very limited. There are still no machines that can replace this production process. Then there's the style, the "know how" and also knowing how to design. Made in Italy is not only about knowing how to create things well but knowing how to think well, being able to design well. Today those who design, design for someone that produces. If that someone that produces is not Italian, this probably means that the company is not using an Italian designer. E.g.: It's like asking IKEA to have its furniture designed in Italy. Losing the expertise or, in any case, the tradition of production in Italy also implies losing Italian design.
That's why protecting the Made in Italy concept is extremely important and can only be done in this way. Talking about an ever more important topic is important, this is the only way to do business. Because today what impacts greatly on costs are the expenses incurred between the production of an item and its sale in Italy. Between these costs, in the middle, there are the trade mark-ups, the advertising, the branding, etc. The message that #ilmarchiosonoio
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sends18, is that your credibility as a designer justifies the existence of the product. It justifies the small production companies. This means that even if the brand logo is not visible, your product is in any case recognisable. Made in Italy is also this, sobriety from the point of view of the brand..
Question 6: What presence as a percentage does working with "sustainable" materials have in the total process of the 3D printed object with respect to the dyes and energy used for the printer, etc. ? Answer: From a sustainable perspective this in fact needs to be assessed at the end. The cost of material, the cost of energy, the printer and finally, the cost of planning must be considered. From the point of view purely of materials there are advantages, in terms of energy there are none. It should be emphasised that the costs of packaging and transport needn’t be factored in, that are significantly reduced.
Question 7: To what extent could digital fabrication revolutionise in fashion? Answer: Very much because specific languages can be created and designed for digital fabrication. In particular, when a new material is identified, the designer can have new inspiration, creating new languages and new solutions. Fashion could benefit significantly.
Question 8: can it be applied to clothing as it is happening, for example, with the construction of 3D printers? #ilmarchiosonoio This is the message that conveys the #terramia design that through three areas identified
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by the co-ordination of Noocleo (information, education and culture) aims to reach the greatest number of persons by creating relationships within the network and creating social value In a bottom up approach Noocleo intends to provide a user centered platform that through listening and continuous monitoring of the design template, created with the end users, will be fuelled by all those players that want to create a global community ( http://www.societing.org)
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Answer: 3D printers are half Open Source. There are few printers that are completely Open Source. Open Source is also a contractual opportunity and in addition can be used to protect ideas. The problem is the following: today possessing a design means having the file relating to the design. Precisely because it is possible to reproduce that design wherever you are. Protecting the file, or at least the paternity or maternity of the file, is equivalent to a form of patent. The patent however as a concept is not applicable to fashion in that it only applies to an invention in general. Thus fashion cannot be patented because there is an absence of a broader sense of novelty. A fashion product developed today is only perhaps a novelty in the immediate future, in fact carrying out research a posteriori, products that are identical/similar developed thirty years before may be identified. It is difficult to truly create something entirely new. Fashion like design involves continuous reworkings of the past. We are the DJs of style. It is the detail that counts, but the base is always the same. Those behind real innovation are small businesses not the multinationals.
Question 9: How fast is Digital Tailoring compared to traditional techniques? Answer: With respect to the standard production chain it doesn't appear to be quicker. Thinking of time, which is only a partial measurement, the relationship between developing a product and simply buying a product may be significant. An industry needs weeks to develop a product in house, an individual instead takes only days to find the product in the shops. Research can be carried out on the internet to have the product ready, or it can be custom developed with cutting and sewing technologies but a few days are in any case always required. However the product is made to measure according to the tastes of the customer. This system works when the customer knows what they need and is competent, i.e. a customer with a critical dress sense. A person that merely follows fashion will never appreciate this system".
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Question 10: Why and how to invest in 3D Printing? Answer: At the moment in fashion, a good investment is laser cutting and not 3D Printing as the latter is only useful for a few accessories. In some cases, it may be relevant in the context of the presentation of products at trade fairs, i.e. to understand how to launch a product. In this case, it may be beneficial to work with digital fabrication.
Filippo Moroni
 
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5. Conclusion
"Fast Couture" is a project that introduces innovation and the union of multiple technologies in order to create a customised product, reducing the time of the production process of a garment that creates a marriage between technology, a sense of the contemporary taste and attention to sartorial detail through "custom" design. The idea is to create a system that could be defined as techno-crafts, suitable for minds receptive to innovation creating a network and a form of collaboration between makers and fashion designers. The "Fast Couture" project is divided into interactive phases of consecutive design. The interested customer makes contact with an atelier with the goal of having an innovative "tailored" garment in a short space of time. The process begins with the technique of 3D scanning of the body using a digital scanner. With body scanning, there are two possibilities: working with a software that models the garment in 3D on the virtual model or producing a 3D mannequin and then continuing with the creative work by hand. This is ideal in this case because a genuine millimetric copy of the customer is used without the disadvantage of having to disturb the latter several times for subsequent fittings. This obviously results in the reduction of working time of the model. The choice of fabric to be used for the garment, the shape and details are then agreed. Specifically with the capsule collection, the fabric used is laser cut neoprene and the pieces of the dress are heat-sealed with adhesive taping that replaces the seams. The next step is to add 3D applications in eco friendly material as it is biodegradable, composed of renewable natural resources such as corn starch. The process of the cycle is completed with assembly of the garment that is made and delivered in a very short space of time to the customer.
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In terms of marketing this has a huge impact because this project doesn't replace entire manufacturing processes but improves and integrates them. It is a system that offers the possibility of obtaining significant advantages, such as, for example, a considerable reduction in the costs of packaging and transport of the garments, speed of implementation and delivery for a tailor-made product, the production of goods that are actually created when they are needed, and not just to be sold (this, for example greatly affects the cost of storage).
As Filippo Moroni states:
"The relationship between developing a product and simply buying a product may be significant. An industry needs weeks to develop a product in house, an individual instead takes only days to find the product in the shops. Research can be carried out on the internet to have the product ready, or it can be custom developed with cutting and sewing technologies but a few days are in any case always required. However the product is made to measure according to the tastes of the customer. This system works when the customer knows what they need and is competent, i.e. a customer with a critical dress sense. A person that merely follows fashion will never appreciate this system".
This shows us that new fabrication techniques, the science of new more flexible materials, engineering in forms, this is also fashion. Continuous innovation, and this time it is being combined with technology. Conceiving a made-to-measure garment for the individual customer using technology is now a reality. Elegance can also stem from a computer, fashion designers can imagine, reinvent and create what is impossible to make by hand. Working the design with a software, skipping several steps from cutting to packaging, sending the file to the machine that makes it real in a short space of time.  
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A language shared by both fashion and technology seeking a relationship of loyalty with the customer that will produce mass-customisation and will revolutionise the market.
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6. Appendix
PHOTO 1 Iris van Herpen’s mostamazing “Escapism Couture” dress and “Crystallization” 3D print top &skirt (source www.pinterest.com)
p.7
PHOTO 2 Iris van Herpen Collections Fall Winter 2014-15 collection (source www.lastampa.it)
p.8
FOTO 3 N12:3D Printed Bikini (source http://www.shapeways.com/n12_bikini).
p.9
PHOTO 4 Creation of a bracelet using Professional 3D Printing (source www.bijouets-italia.com)
p.10 47
PHOTO 5 Shanghai bracelets, designer Selvaggia Armani (source www.bijouets-italia.com)
p.10
PHOTO 6.7 3D Janina Alleyne Shoes (source www.pianetadonna.it)
p.11
PHOTO 8 3D Printed dress for burlesque dancer Dita von Teese (sorce www.dezeen.com)
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p.12
PHOTO 9 The most important exhibition of 3D Print - 3D PRINT SHOW London (source: http://www.demotix.com)
p.17
PHOTO 10 In Italy and Mecspe 3D PrintHub in Parma. (source: http://3dprinthub.it)
p.17
PHOTO 11 THE SPUTNIK GIRLS Rei Kawakubo Comme des Garçons Fall 2012 (www.thesputnikgirls.wordpress.co)
PHOTO 12-17 (Source: Bond-In, from technology to fashion, p.27)
p.19
p.22-27 49
PHOTO 18 Body scanning. Image from the personal archive in collaboration with the Solido 3D company.
p.28
PHOTO 19 Point cloud that create the triangular mesh (personal archive)
p.29
PHOTO 20 Body Cloud (Source: http://www.solido3d.it/)
p.29
PHOTO 21 Digital process for construction of the garment after scanning of the body. (source http://jorgeandesther.com)
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p.30
PHOTO 22 Modelling of the pieces of the garment on the virtual body of the customer (source http://jorgeandesther.com) p.31
PHOTO 23 like 3D Plasma of Crea (source www.creasolution.it)
p.32
PHOTO 24 The Vidya application of Assyst Bullmer (source www.creasolution.it)
p.33
PHOTO 25 software tailoring of Eurostaff-Systems. (source www.creasolution.it)
p.33
PHOTO 26 Capsules Collection Presentation
p.35, 37
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7. Bibliography B.Evans, ‘’Printing in Plastic’’, Apress, 2012 C.Barnatt,’’ 3D Printing: The Next Industrial Revolution’’, Platform, 2013 Dyloan Studio in collaboration with IED Research Center, BOND-IN from technology to Fashion, Gribaudo, 2011
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Web references
8.
www.creasolution.it www.crunchbase.com www.demotix.com www.dezeen.com www.3dprinthub.it www.fastprotos.com www.jorgeandesther.com www.lastampa.it www.mediterranews.org www.pianetadonna.it www.soiel.it www.skorpionprototyping.com www.societing.org www.solido3d.com www.thebizloft.com www.wired.it www.wohlersassociates.com
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