Technology is in Fashion

I’ve been to a lot of engineering events and I must report that some stereotypes hold true. I haven’t seen many pocket protectors, but let’s just say that pragmatism usually wins out over style when it comes to how attendees tend to dress for a day of training and presentations. It’s quite the opposite for the annual Met Gala, where fashion designers try to outdo one another and compete with the amazing works on display in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, which the annual fundraising event supports. 

This year’s Met Gala, however, was a bit different. Among the chiffon, velvet and taffeta were materials that engineers are more familiar with, such as Ti-64 titanium, Accura 60 plastic and MicroFine Green resin. It’s not the first time 3D printed materials have been in the spotlight on the red carpet, but designer Zac Posen, GE Additive and Protolabs pushed the technology beyond the sci-fi-themes you may have seen before to create softer shapes that appear to flow organically.

Posen’s “whimsical design language is more Cinderella than Terminator,” explained Eric Utley, Protolabs applications engineer, in a blog post on the technology. Utley worked closely with Posen and his design team on the project, which has a number of parallels to more traditional design engineering projects.

The post details how Posen had to embrace design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) using computer-aided design software, rather than the physical fabric draped over mannequins that he was more accustomed to. Taking the manufacturing process into account is something that no doubt resonates with every product design and development team, as would Posen’s need to remove weight from the designs without compromising its integrity. Just like in some aerospace or automotive applications, 3D printing allowed Posen the freedom to realize a design that would not have been feasible to manufacture conventionally.

“The Met Gala is special for designers, because it’s really the biggest fashion event in the world,” says Posen in a video that accompanies the post. “We’re actually printing an entire dress that would be unachievable with fabric.”

That dress, the Rose Dress, consists of 21 petals printed by Protolabs via stereolithography, averaging 20 in. in size and weighing 1 lb. each. The Xtreme White 200 polypropylene petals were painted with DuPont’s Twilight Fire Chromalusion paint and bolted to a titanium frame. It was worn by British supermodel Jourdan Dunn.

Check out all the 3D printing details behind Posen’s Met Gala collection here, including a bustier made out of Somos Watershed XC 11122 clear plastic and custom fit to actress Nina Dobrev; a collar shaped like palm leaves that was worn by actress Katie Holmes; vacuum metalized urchin embroidery worn by actress Deepika Padukone; and a nylon headpiece plated with copper and brass that was modeled by actress Julia Garner. The post, video and infographics are all available registration-free.

Thanks for reading DE.

— The editors