Oct 28, 2015 | By Tess
threeASFOUR, the avant-garde fashion collective, has recently been awarded the Fashion Design Award given by the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. The award was presented to the label for its striking Spring-Summer 2016 collection, which features 3D printed pieces.
The New York based fashion label was founded in 2005 by Gabi Asfour, Angela Donhauser, and Adi Gil, who had previously all worked together since 1998 under the label AsFour. The three designers, hailing from Lebanon, Tajikistan, and Israel, respectively, have continuously wowed the fashion world with their bold and provocative designs, which thematically deal with such issues as human coexistence and collaboration. Notably, threeASFOUR has had some significant collaborations including ones with Icelandic musician Björk, Yoko Ono, and American artist Matthew Barney. Their sartorial designs are also featured at several of the world’s most prestigious museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Palais Galliera in Paris.
Arguably one of the most innovative contemporary fashion labels today, it is not surprising that threeASFOUR have incorporated 3D printing technology into their designs, as many fashion designers are beginning to do. This is not their first time designing with the help of additive manufacturing, however, as they presented two 3D printed dresses at New York Fashion Week in 2013 as part of their Spring Summer collection 2014, which was called “MER KA BA”.
threeASFOUR's designers
Their Spring Summer 2016 collection, which was debuted in line with threeASFOUR’s tenth anniversary, has been described by the label as a “meta-retrospective collection, recasting elements from its design legacy.” The collection was designed in collaboration with architect Bradley Rothenburg, who helped in the 3D modelling process. The designs were made using several 3D modelling software programs, and were printed using Belgian company Materialise’s services. threeASFOUR also worked with Materialise on their MER KA BA collection, and their mastery of the technology has grown since. Asfour explains, “Our 3D fabric weaves multiplied and the geometry got more intricate.”
threeASFOUR’s collection features an especially intricate and beautiful 3D printed dress, which combines both the new technology of 3D design and printing as well as the ancient, traditional method of tailoring. That is, in designing the dress, Asfour, Donhauser, and Gil wanted to incorporate the 3D printed parts of the dress into its design as if they were pieces of a pattern. Asfour adds of the design process, “Moreover, we wanted to create an asymmetric flow for this piece which was quite a puzzle considering the different varieties of 3D printed weaves created: six in total.”
The Spring Summer 2016 collection was presented, as the models clad in threeASFOUR’s impressive designs paraded down the runway with an abstract, fractal video made by artist Alex Czetwertynski projected behind them. The effect is impressive, and appropriately futuristic. The fashion show can be seen in the video below.
As the use of 3D printing in fashion grows at a rapid pace, there is little doubt that threeASFOUR have been and will continue to be an important name in both the fashion and additive manufacturing worlds. When asked about the future of 3D printing within fashion, Gabi Asfour said, “In a way similar to how Lycra entered the fashion industry in the ‘80s, radically evolving how clothes were made and how garments behave, 3D printing is going to take the industry multiple steps ahead in terms of form and function.” We are excited to see how this meshing of worlds continues to unfold.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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