Sep 20, 2014 | By Alec
Lately, we've seen a lot of news coming in about 3D printing in the fashion world. 3D printed fashion was, for instance, to be found all over the runway at the fashion week in New York. This hasn't gone unnoticed, as even Vogue got in on the action. This week, they reported on one of the most unique 'photo-shoots' in fashion: the scanning - and 3D printing - of supermodel Karlie Kloss. As part of a unique media campaign, printed versions of the supermodel travelled all over the world for one of the most original and international photo-shoots ever made.
Some time ago, the supermodel was scanned by the Maryland-based company Direct Dimensions Inc. This company has already built up a reputation for scanning and printing very original objects and even people. They have, for instance, printed a puzzle of a bust of President George Washington, while their scanning equipment was also used in the making of the movie The Amazing Spiderman 2.
The guys behind Direct Dimensions scanned Kloss in their New York City studio in a circular camera set-up consisting of nearly 100 cameras, of which all the shutters we simultaneously active. This set-up replaced an earlier method that required the subject to sit still for several minutes. 'Impractical for movie stars, who 'can't sit still". Afterwards, they used their specialized (unknown) software to generate a 3D image from the hundred or so photographs.
According to Kloss, this really changed the traditional notions of fashion photography. 'On a normal photo shoot you're interacting with everyone and the photographer is giving you direction," says Kloss. "On this shoot, it was just like '3, 2, 1, go!' and I'm in a circular dome by myself making it up as I go. I have no idea if I'm doing the right or wrong thing.'
It also meant that there was little room for error, as photoshop wasn't included in the scanning services. 'You really had to be perfected: the hair, makeup, and clothes—everything had to be exact. It was pretty cool because it forces you to be more precise at your job, and it was a new challenge that everyone was trying to adjust to.'
As part of the media campaign, dozens of detailed prints were made of Kloss, which were sent all over the world in one of the most diverse and original photo-shoots. The supermodel 'travelled' thousands of miles to traverse the earth in 80 days – in reference to a famous novel – and was photographed everywhere, from Stonehenge, to Athens, to Malaysia, to San Franscisco and so on.
Vogue provided a detailed list of numbers involved in this photo-shoot:
Number of 3-D dolls printed: 50
Number of days traveled: 80
Cities visited: 22
First trip: San Francisco
Last trip: Tokyo
Smallest doll: 4 inches
Largest doll: 6 inches
Number of 3-D doll limbs broken in transit: 13
Number of dolls lost in transit: 3
Number of dolls escorted off the Acropolis: 1
Shortest journey: Times Square (410 feet)
Furthest journey: Pulau Perhentian, Malaysia (9,204 miles)
Highest point: The moon
3D printing in Fashion
Of course, this photo-shoot is hardly typical for what 3D printing technology is currently doing for the fashion industry, but the prominent role it played in this project is indicative of how its catching on. Kloss is probably overreacting when saying that 'as the technology becomes more precise and more powerful, maybe my job will be entirely replaced. Maybe I'll have a 3-D print of myself that a company will use for their advertising campaigns and I will never have to show up to work, which sounds like a good deal.' But we will nonetheless be seeing more and more combinations of fashion of 3D printing and scanning.
The writers over at vogue believe that 3D scanning especially will be playing a larger part in the future. Accurate body scans to determine sizes and print corresponding clothes might be just around the corner. Levi's did a 3D scanning test run of just that recently, but it will likely be some time before it becomes commonplace. 'We're not there yet', Michael Raphael of Direct Dimensions said, 'but we're going to be.'
But the same could be said about printing. Various fashion designers are already working to include 3D printing in their accessories – like, for instance, threeASFOUR – and Shapeways is full of 3D printed jewelry. However, they rightly warn us that it will be some time before 3D printed clothes become actually wearable. As one of the threeASFOUR designers said, 'And yes, it's not quite ready. 'It's still in a way no wearable material—yet. But if this is the next step, it's gonna get there.'
It therefore looks like 3D printing technology is conquering a whole new market.
Photo: Courtesy of Darren Seamark
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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iamaddictedtoyou wrote at 8/15/2015 11:48:04 AM:
This is a very good post...awesome models...i really like this post...
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