High-Fashion Meets 3D Printing: 9 3D Printed Dresses for the Future

You are probably aware of some companies who are promising to use 3D printed technology to print their shoes. Adidas and Under Armour have already promised a future where customers can 3D print their sneakers in-store.

However, moving up the latter of the fashion world designers have partnered with engineers, architects, and mathematicians to create high-end fashion wear for the future; clothing that can interact with your body or surrounding environment.  

Though the fashion season is still two months away, here are some of the coolest 3D printed dresses in the fashion industry.

Spider Dress

The Spider Dress 2.0 may be the perfect dress to wear out in the evening; something to keep you safe from any unwanted attention. Created by Anouk Wipprecht, the 3D printed dress is equipped with an Intel Edison chip that is constantly analyzing the biosignals of the wearer.

When the wearer’s breath gets too heavy or someone gets a little too close, it stimulates the spider’s territorial instincts by using robotic arms to protect the wearer. The complex 3D printed dress is fully 3D printed using laser sintering.

Anouk Wipprecht is no stranger to fusing technology and fashion. Her 3D printed designs have earned her the opportunity to partner with companies like AutoDesk, Google, Microsoft, Cirque Du Soleil, Audi, and 3D printing company Materialise. She spends a lot of her time researching the world of fashion and how it will look in the near future.

Skeleton Dress

This 3D printed dress takes inspiration directly from nature. Iris Van Herpen is constantly pushing the boundaries of wearable technology and fashion design, with an impressive collection of clothing to show it.

The fully 3D printed  Skeleton Dress, created by Herpen in collaboration with architect Isaïe Bloch, is directly inspired by the anatomy of multiple animals.

Gems of the Ocean

The 3D printed Gems of the Ocean dress pushed the technological limit of how a printed dress can be created. Inspired by the way “gentle waves….wash over reef systems in clear seas” the dress is the world’s first full-length 3D gowns, printed in a single part.

Created by Melinda Looi and Belgium 3D printing powerhouse, Materialise, the dress itself was folded to fit into the smaller 3D printing machine. After the dress was completed in the printer, the dress was finished off with a resounding 5,000, Swarovski crystals. The dress is perfect for your 2023 Great Gatsby party.

Smoke Dress

Another dress to keep those out of your personal space, the Smoke Dress by Anouk Wipprecht is another impressive feat for 3D printed tech wear. The interactive and 3D printed dress was created as part of a larger collection for the car company Volkswagen.

As stated in its name, when someone gets too close to the wearer, the dress releases smoke to protect the user.

The Voltage Collection

Probably the most wearable piece of 3D printing on this list,  this dress was also created by Iris Van Herpen in collaboration with Julia Koerner,Materialise and Samuel Canning of Griffith University. Impressively, the collaborative team of designers and engineers, have created an intricate 3D printed dress that resembles lace through the process of laser sintering.

Incunabula

The Kaat Debo, Alexandra Verschueren, and Tobias Klein dress looks and embodies perceived fashion from 1914. The lace looking dress utilizes both mathematics and an architectural touch to bring it into fruition creating something that, “represents the tension between the desire for ornament and the search for the modern”  

Vortex

The complexity of the universe and the mystery of space is what inspired this nex 3D printed dress. Created by Laura Thapthimkuna, the fashion designer wanted to create a dress that embodies both organic and mathematical elements.

As described by the designer, “I really tried to do something quite different and very sculptural...I think what makes the dress different is the concept behind it and the overall design.”

The Smock Corset

An elegant and very wearable 3D printed fashion piece looks like something you can pick up at the store until you take a closer look. The “vintage meets modern” piece combines architecture to create a piece that is wearable but futuristic.

Through thousands hours and terabytes of fashion data, designers Marina Hoermanseder and Julia Koerner brought into fruition this piece.

Synapse Dress

Another Intel Edison powered dress, the 3D printed Synapse Dress has the ability to analyze the wearer's environment. The Anouk Wipprecht 3D printed dress logs the actions of the user, identifying anything in the environment that may be stressing the wearer.

The headpiece of the dress has the capacity to track the wearer’s attention level and notifies others around you, to not disturb you while you are concentrating on a task. Even more so, the dress will give off a 120 watt light signal if anyone you do not like gets too close.

What do you think of the emergence of 3D printed fashion? Leave your comments below.