During New York Fashion Week last Tuesday, ThreeAsFour unveiled a dress assembled from 30 individual, multi-material and color 3-D printed parts created via 270 unique design files. Titled “Oscillation,” the 3-D printed dress served as the centerpiece of the brand’s “Quantum Vibrations” collection, created in partnership with New York-based designer Travis Fitch.
“3-D printing is transformative for designers aiming to take complex designs and realize them as a wearable garment. In the case of Oscillation, Stratasys 3-D printing enabled us to visualize 3-D patterns as they truly are—complex, interwoven circles of energy, transforming in shape, color and flexibility as they radiate around the body,” said Adi Gil, one-third of ThreeAsFour. “The stellar parallax of the patterns, the way in which they transform as the viewing angle changes, is only possible through 3-D printing.”
Here’s how it happened: the 30 components were initially printed as flat, unwrapped patches that were later assembled on the body. Using Stratasys’ PolyJet 3-D printing capabilities, such as advanced precision and the ability to vary material thickness and color gradations, ThreeAsFour’s designers were able to recreate intricate vibrational patterns and geometries without compromising the flexibility and wearability integral to the design.
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Furthermore, to effectively produce the gradated coloration, each print was digitally split into nine layers of less than one millimeter in thickness. Individual layers were assigned a particular mixture of color and flexibility for the overall effect, with nearly 300 separate design files used to complete the project.
“As the nodal patterns thicken, scale, and undulate, the color gradations respond accordingly to accentuate the geometry,” Gil explained. “Using a vivid color range, we were able to construct a multi-dimensional textural surface; a screenshot of a dynamic, oscillating waveform.”
“At Stratasys we are continually reflecting on aesthetic discoveries to help creative minds explore uncharted grounds in contemporary art and design that can be realized with our 3-D printing technology,” said Naomi Kaempfer, creative director at Stratasys. “With Oscillation, we are inviting our audience to explore abstract universal ideas and thought changing concepts, and bringing these to life in three dimensions and vivid color. With forward-thinking projects such as this, ThreeAsFour has set an example in design innovation, and has continued to transform the way people think about fashion.”