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Still from the oďŹƒcial video by Nicolas Cambier 
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!PRESS RELEASE UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 13 MARCH 2015, 4:30PM CDT Pauline van Dongen shows the future of 3D printed fashion During South by Southwest Pauline gives a presentation titled “Ready to Wear? Body Informed 3D Printed Fashion.” Her talk addresses the importance of a body-centered approach for 3D printing in fashion to overcome the current, prevailing disconnect between the digital and physical realm in this field.
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She states “As a fashion designer you are inherently concerned with the interaction between the material and a moving body. The virtual design process however often neglects the role of the physical and dynamic body of the wearer.” One of the main opportunities of 3D printing for fashion she highlights is the fact that digital design and manufacturing are enabling us to imbue matter with specific properties, behavior and expression; allowing garments to become active and responsive. The interdisciplinary approach supported the application of methodologies from the fields of fashion, dance and interaction design.
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The research has been initiated as part of Pauline’s PhD program “Crafting Wearables”. Her main interest can be described by the conceptual notion that in fashion, the body informs the material, while the material in return informs the body. As a result of this, she divided her research in 3D printing in two projects. The first one, executed at the University of Technology in Eindhoven, focuses on the emphasizing the moving body in creating dynamic behavior in 3D printed materials. The second project focuses on the properties of the 3D printed material itself to create responsive structures that interact with the body.
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3D printing is often said to revolutionize the fashion industry, but in order to facilitate this change, she argues, fashion designers need to develop an understanding of the way that parameters at play in the digital model, relate to physical behavior. Implementation of the technology in everyday garments demands a step-by-step approach and an iterative process of testing materials on the body.
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She concludes that one of the challenges for fashion is to shift from a global and homogenous behavior like we usually experience when working with textiles, towards a heterogeneous and local behavior of geometries that can be designed with generative software. Pauline finished her presentation by calling out to designers and architects and 3D modelers to engage in an even closer collaboration and foster as well as build on the exciting collision of paradigms.
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Project 1: Design for an Auxetic Sleeve The design process of the first project begins and ends with the moving body. The designers were seeking to use the technology of 3D printing to materialize movement and therefor studied how they could create a surface that would be activated by body movement. They choose to develop a pattern for a sleeve that would show auxetic behavior. Several iterations and test done with the Objet Connex multi material printer resulted in a geometry, made up of rhomboid shaped elements that could transform itself. The surface expands with certain body movements, especially daily gestures, and thus functions as a visual feedback mechanism: informing the wearer about the
biotensegrity present in their bodies. On an aesthetic level these transformations would present an optical effect that plays with perspective and changes the outlines of the body.
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The use of generative design software, in this case Grasshopper, allowed for intricate patterning’s that could be adjusted by various parameters. This way the effect of gradual changes in the model, for instance changing the direction of the elements, their openness or thickness, could be explored both in terms of aesthetics as well as in terms of movement qualities.
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The still ongoing project doesn’t present a finished product yet, but at this stage aims to express how translating body movements into material properties could be seen as a new direction when working with 3D printing for fashion.
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This project is done in collaboration with Paola Tognazzi (physical interaction designer and choreographer) and Ralph Zoontjens (industrial designer and 3D modeler)
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Project 2: Ruff Ruff is a 3D printed responsive wearable, designed and developed by architect Behnaz Farahi and fashion designer Pauline van Dongen. The interest of both designers lay in enhancing the interaction between bodies and the surrounding environment. Together they worked on their concept of creating a dynamic environment around the body, using 3D printing technologies.
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The designers were constrained by the 3D printing materials available to them. In particular, they were limited to rigid and fragile materials. Nonetheless, early tests revealed that structures in the form of a spring proved surprisingly flexible even when printed using rigid materials. The design therefore took the form of a folded coil or spiral that could move with the movement of the body. Various topologies and surface modifications were explored in order to enhance the aesthetic expression of the spiraling form as well as to control the types of motion it could afford around the body. Nitinol springs were incorporated into the design to actuate the contracting or expanding motion of the 3D printed spiral.
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This resulted in a breathing-like, organic entity that would seemingly crawl over the body. The designers believe that the notion of such responsive systems, even though still speculative, could address numerous design challenges, especially considering how emerging technologies are capable of amplifying the performative qualities of fabrics.
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Ruff was developed in Los Angeles as part of a three week collaboration at 3D Systems’ printing facilities, situated in the studio of Will.i.am, who is both frontman and founder of The Black Eyed Peas, as well as being a (wearable) tech entrepreneur. (Click here for more information on Ruff)
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About Crafting Wearables The interdisciplinary research project “Crafting Wearables” aims at designing wearables that are robust, fashionable as well as commercially viable within the production chain. In order to achieve this aim, the team and participating partners bring together the different fields of fashion, technology, industry, and academic scholarship. Through interrelated research projects the interdisciplinary program will bridge the gap between theory and practice, experiment and industry, and design and production. As a result, the project will not only craft wearables but also analyse how fashionable
technology relates to identity, comprehend its social impact, bring technology closer to fashion design, and make it a competitive branch of the creative industry in The Netherlands. For more info: http://craftingwearables.com
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About Will.i.am Will.i.am, born William Adams, is a multi-faceted entertainer and creative innovator, a seven-time Grammy Award winner, and founder of I AM ™. As a musician, producer, director and advocate for education, he is an enthusiastic user of technologies in both his professional and personal lives. Will.i.am used to serve as Intel’s director of creative innovation, and joined 3D Systems as the chief creative officer in 2014. For more info: http://will.i.am
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About 3D Systems 3D Systems provides the most advanced and comprehensive 3D digital design and fabrication solutions available today, including 3D printers, print materials and cloudsourced custom parts. Its powerful ecosystem transforms entire industries by empowering professionals and consumers everywhere to bring their ideas to life using its vast material selection, including plastics, metals, ceramics and edibles. For more info: http://www.3dsystems.com
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For information on Pauline van Dongen: Website: www.paulinevandongen.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pauline.dongen Twitter: @Pauline_Dongen Instagram: paulinevandongen