Feb 3, 2017 | By Benedict
Madrid-based luxury fashion brand Loewe has unveiled a 3D printed bracelet in its new autumn/winter 2017/18 menswear campaign. The bracelet, made in collaboration with Berlin-based VOJD Studios, was 3D printed in one piece using a selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printer.
Although 3D printed textiles and clothing are predicted to take off in a big way in the near future, 3D printed jewelry remains the most frequent area of additive fashion. Since jewelry tends to be solid, and doesn’t always need to be flexible or breathable, designers have a lot more creative freedom when using a 3D printer to create it. The new 3D printed bracelet from Loewe and VOJD resembles a massively oversized piece of gold chain, and has been paired with vintage-inspired tartan and leather outfits in the collection.
Loewe’s new 3D printed bracelet is made from a VOJD ceramics compound, a durable and flexible powder-based material, and was printed using selective laser sintering. Despite being an interlocking chain, the clever design means it can be printed in one go, with no assembly required.
“Loewe approached us with the idea of a bracelet they really wanted to work on but couldn’t realize with other technologies because it would have been too heavy if made of metal,” explained VOJD Studios co-founder and CEO Christian Hartung. “We managed to realize it through 3D printing in our ceramics compound—once metalized the final piece looks like metal.”
In addition to making its own jewelry, Berlin-based VOJD Studios specializes in producing 3D printed items for luxury fashion labels, allowing high fashion houses and designers to co-develop 3D printed collections using technology and materials they may not yet be familiar with. Not only does this provide new fashion opportunities for labels, it also provides an ethical way of manufacturing, with VOJD promising to use “zero-waste technology.” Past clients include Alexander McQueen, Akris, and Carolina Herrera.
The designers at VOJD believe that additive manufacturing appeals to the fashion industry because it promises unique, one-off products. This allows labels to be more experimental with their designs, and also adds an element of rarity to each item. “Probably one of the most talked-about features of the technology is its ability to build customized and personalized pieces, since each one is printed separately and there is no mold requiring the manufacturing of a large number of identical products,” Hartung said.
But it isn’t just the major fashion labels like Alexander McQueen and Loewe who are benefitting from 3D printing technology. Hartung says that VOJD is witnessing a growing democratization of fashion production, with the fashion consumer now having a bigger say in what they end up wearing: “In the near future, [3D printing] can lead to an increased role of the consumer in the ideation and creation of the final product they desire.”
Another important reason why fashion designers like Loewe are adopting 3D printing techniques is that the technology simply permits the creation of entirely new designs, exemplified by the one-piece interlocking chain in the new Loewe menswear collection. “3D printing enables design solutions and complexities impossible for other technologies,” Hartung explained. “This, combined with the introduction of new materials and material properties over the next years, can direct the aesthetics of the future and transform most creative industries.”
The Loewe autumn/winter 2017/18 menswear campaign was shot by Steven Meisel.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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