Alexis Walsh's APEX SERIES combines traditional craft with 3D printing and simulation

Aug 20, 2018 | By Thomas

Alexis Walsh, who specializes in 3D printed fashion, has unveiled her latest collection: the APEX SERIES that marries handcrafted embellishment and generative digital form. Made in collaboration with designer Justin Hattendorf, the six piece collection incorporates traditional craft with a custom physics simulation to generate 3D printed hardware for garments. APEX SERIES was featured in the Platform Fashion x Lexus 3D Fashion runway show presented by Lexus Germany in Dusseldorf, Germany.

New York City-based artist and designer Alexis Walsh - whose inspiration stems from developing wearable designs from more rigid structural forms - has been experimenting with using additive manufacturing technologies as a part of her fabrication process.

"The 3D printed pieces were developed with a custom app that we built, designed to merge complex, precise digital models with the tactile, intuitive nature of working by hand," said Walsh. "Once printed, the translucent hardware is outfitted with brass threads and manually screwed onto the garments."

APEX SERIES explores this novel assembly technique through several variations:

First, complex formations of studs are designed within the garments’ flattened tailoring patterns. Bubble studs populate inside the boundaries of the top. Spiked studs augment the curvature of the pants. Randomized diamond forms placed on the dress guide the fabric draping, collapsing itself toward the body. The shoulder bag utilizes strategically applied hardware to create structure and embellishment. The coat uses dense, fractured elements to ergonomically drape along the body. The clutch bag hardware acts as a handle for the wearer to grasp the bag.

By combining fashion design with 3D printing and simulation, this designs are able to be quickly modeled, iterated on, produced, and assembled. Custom, interactive algorithms ensure that each stud variation is of the same formal language, each with an entirely unique character from the last.

The full collection was debuted at the Harvard Identities Fashion Show in April, which was curated and produced by Harvard. The coat and clutch bag were presented in GE's Industry in 3D event in May.