If you think you only see intricate bodysuits with spikes or scales in sci-fi movies, well, think again. Dutch designer Iris van Herpen recently gave everyone an inside look of her work process in creating a couture dress with materials molded from a 3D printer.
In an interview with The Cut, Iris reveals that she hired scientists, architects, and computer programmers to work on her latest project for the upcoming exhibit Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology in her almost laboratory-like studio.
“People really have particular ideas about the future. ‘Sci-fi-looking’ is an idea that people still have from movies from the `80s,” Iris says.
For the dress, Iris used a silicone material called dragon skin to create around a thousand wave-like decals which were laser-cut and molded from a 3D printer. Apparently, it took them three to four weeks to place all of them on the dress, which was also made from dragon skin. They then added a layer of silk lining and cotton to make it more wearable.
All in all, the process took several months to complete according to Iris. “After every collection people are fascinate by the material and want to know what it was,” she says.
Printers creating designs for us? Yup, we’re definitely looking at the future of fashion here.
[The Cut]
Photos courtesy of The Cut