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This article was taken from the March 2016 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Though it creases and flows like satin, this dress was 3D-printed in plastic. The gown was created by Massachusetts-based design studio Nervous System. Founded by Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg, the studio experiments with new ways to use 3D printing to design fluid materials.
Each dress starts as a 3D scan of the wearer's body. Kinematics software breaks the design down into thousands of triangles, then adds hinges to each segment. Developing the software required months of simulations. "We tried a number of physics engines," says Rosenkrantz, 32. "A lot of them just didn't hold up."
The dresses are fabricated as a single piece using a Shapeways selective sintering machine (cheaper printers can't form the hinges) and unfolded, cleaned and dyed. This takes two days. "The garment has a lot of movement," says Louis-Rosenberg, 29.
The idea began as a vanity project. "Our work is research-based, but many of the things we make are things I wanted for myself," laughs Rosenkrantz. "Ultimately, I wanted a really cool dress."
The studio has printed nine dresses -- the first was acquired by Moma. It will ship made-to-order versions this spring -- although they won't be cheap ("like an expensive wedding gown"). For an affordable fix, the studio has created an app that lets you design Kinematics jewellery, and is working on a collaboration with New Balance. "Ultimately we're not just creating a project, we're creating a system," says Rosenkrantz. Does anyone know a silicone seamstress?
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
