Your current research focuses on using 3D printing to create sustainable fashion. Can you explain how 3D printing 2D patterns on pre-stretched fabrics contribute to sustainability in the fashion industry?
This technique relies on 3D printing, which is a low-waste manufacturing technology as it is an automated additive manufacturing technology that produces the design by adding subsequent layers instead of subtracting from a substance, leading to minimum waste.
Furthermore, since the outputs of this method are self-shaped textiles, using this technique enables me to develop garments without needing sewing and based on zero-waste patterns. While this approach leads to less waste production, it also enhances garment durability by creating fewer seams, resulting in longer-lasting apparel that reduces the frequency of replacements and overall environmental impact.
How do you select materials for your 3D-printed textiles to ensure they are suitable for upcycling and recycling? And to expand further: how does your technique of 3D printing on fabrics contribute to the circular fashion economy?
The materials needed for this technique fall into two categories: 3D printing material and textile, both of which need to be elastic.
For the 3D printing material, I looked into three types: TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane), EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate), and Kyotoflex. TPU and EVA are recyclable, while Kyotoflex is a biodegradable material.
As for the textile part, even though this technique requires stretchy fabrics, I opted for natural-based mono-material jersey fabrics, such as 100% wool, 100% cashmere, and 100% modal, which achieve elasticity through their knitting way and are easier to recycle.
In a further move toward sustainability, I sourced leftover fabrics from a high-end brand. This allowed me to be confident about the quality and composition of the textiles while also making an effort to use industrial waste.
The interaction between printed and non-printed areas of fabric leads to self-transforming behaviour. Can you elaborate on how this process works and its implications for fashion design?
Innovation in FDM 3D printing technology, as one of the digital fabrication methods, leads to the design and fabrication of self-transformable textiles. It is about a shape-making process using additive manufacturing to mimic shapes found in nature and generate complicated forms that are difficult and expensive to produce in other ways.
The innovative factor of this process is that it utilises 3D printing not only as a manufacturing process but also as a form-finding tool. The 3D shapes are formed by 3D printing a few layers of 2D patterns on pre-stretched textiles. When the fabric gets released from the build plate, it tends to get back to its normal state before the stretch. However, the printed areas, by locking the fibres on their stretched position, resist the contract. Conversely, the unprinted areas are not able to remain elongated. This in-plane interaction leads the entire 2D plane to distort into a 3D plane. So, the textile self-transforms to a 3D form when it gets released from its pre-stretched state.
This shape-making process has different advantages. Firstly, it transforms the process’s complexity from the manufacturing stage to the design stage, making it easier to deal with and control. Moreover, the application of computational tools in the design process leads to a decrease or elimination of possible errors. The design parameters could be determined precisely, and the result could be simulated and analysed by digital software programs before manufacture.
Secondly, the resulting forms have an infinite variety, which stems from each pattern’s morphological character. The produced shapes are directly related to the input patterns, and an unlimited variety of patterns, either singular elements or repeating ones, could be explored. Thus, the potential output shapes are endless, and the diversity of the distortion types is associated with the infinity of the pattern types. Since every single change in parameters would generate a new form, 3D printing technology served as a form-finding tool in this method.
The use of additive manufacturing promotes freedom of manufacture, as it allows for the creation of complex geometric shapes with fewer restrictions compared to traditional fabrication techniques. Fashion designers were some of the first to adopt this technology to produce textiles and customised clothing, taking advantage of its benefits. Self-shaping textiles also have several potential applications in fashion design, from functional to ornamental.
Customisation is a key feature of your work. How do you use parametric design to create customisable garments and accessories, and what is the user experience like?
2D patterns are like the DNA for this technique. Each pattern turns into a unique form, and every single change in a pattern creates a new shape, resulting in uniquely individualised outcomes. This feature presents a vast array of innovation opportunities for fashion design and offers several customisation options and co-creation opportunities for users.
Considering this inherent feature, I developed a digital tool for designing the 2D patterns parametrically, providing the possibility of modifying the 2D pattern instantly by editing the input parameters. This opens up the potential for a user interface where individuals can personalise the 2D pattern according to their aesthetic preferences and body shape. Users can also preview the outcome thanks to fabric behaviour simulation.
What challenges have you encountered in developing tools and techniques for easier fabrication, and how have you addressed them?
Despite the potential benefits of 3D printing in fashion design, the current 3D printing machines exhibit some limitations, hindering their use in the fashion industry. Therefore, one challenge was adapting 3D printing machines for garment manufacturing.
The solution was creating a physical tool, including a frame system for stretching the fabric and fixing it to the 3D printing machine. Since the research benefited from 3D printing machines in different scales, made by distinct companies, I developed various approaches based on the dimensions and shape of the printing beds.
What upcoming projects or areas of research are you most excited about, and how do you plan to further integrate art, technology, and sustainability in your work?
3D printing on pre-tensioned technique still has many appealing potentials, and I plan to delve further into this technique. I have many ideas to implement step by step. One plan is to explore the applications of this technique in other fields of design, like architecture, interior design, and product design.
Also, I would work more on using this technique in fashion design to develop other variations of sustainable garments and accessories and for making the customisation user interface. The further plan is to implement intelligence in the self-shaped textiles to create interactive/responsive design.
