Fashion visionaries never stop exploring new horizons, fusing cutting-edge technology with classic elegance. This tradition of innovation is not new. Historically, fashion icons have pioneered the use of modern technologies and materials of their time. Coco Chanel reimagined jersey fabric for luxury clothing in the 1910s, Gianni Versace’s avant-garde use of materials such as chain mail, known as Oroton, became a hallmark of his collections in the 1980s, and Prada’s decision to use nylon, a material then associated with parachutes and tents, in luxury fashion items paved the way for today’s designers who continue to push the boundaries of technology in fashion design.
Amid these explorations, 3D printing has emerged as a revolutionary tool, enabling the creation of garments once thought impossible and opening the door to the possibility of wearable art. From the avant-garde runways of Amsterdam to the glamour of the Met Gala, we’ve selected 10 pieces where technology and haute couture intersect, fusing science and creativity to produce visually unique garments.
Iris van Herpen Crystallization Top
Iris van Herpen’s pioneering Crystallized Top, presented at Amsterdam Fashion Week in 2010, is believed to be one of the first 3D printed haute couture pieces to appear on the runway. Inspired by the intricate structure of a seashell, this white polyamide masterpiece mimics natural geometry, combining organic shapes with high-tech fashion. Not only was the piece an early demonstration of the potential of 3D printing, it also set a high bar for what is possible in textile innovation. The top is part of the “History of Crazy Design” permanent collection at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Mad Paris), located on the west side of the Louvre.
“Crystallization” top by Iris van Herpen. Image courtesy of Iris van Herpen Facebook.
Anouk Wipprecht’s light-up dress for Formnext
Anouk Wipprecht’s 3D printed dress. Courtesy of Anouk Wipprecht.
Dutch designer Anouk Wipprecht’s glowing dress, created in collaboration with Chromatic3D, is simply stunning. Making a statement about the possibilities of wearable technology, the piece illuminates the intersection of fashion and 3D printing, both literally and figuratively. Wipprecht is known for combining fashion with technology, robotics and interaction design to create garments that interact with the wearer and their environment. For this dress, Wipprecht used 3D printing to attach around 75 flexible LED domes to the fabric without glue or stitching, allowing the garment to react to its environment through the LEDs. The piece was shown at the last Formnext event in Germany in 2023.
3D printed dress by Anouk Wipprecht on display at Formnext 2023. Courtesy of 3DPrint.com.
Julia Corner explores the natural world of 3D printing in fashion
Austrian designer Julia Korner is known for creating costumes for Marvel’s blockbuster Black Panther as well as some of the film’s most eye-catching pieces, including the Kelp Jacket. Created as part of the “Multi-Color, Multi-Material 3D Printing” collection in collaboration with Stratasys, the piece showcases her ability to create intricate, organic structures using 3D printing. The Kelp Jacket is a great example of how 3D printing can help create wearable art that pushes the boundaries of traditional fashion and textiles. Korner’s work constantly explores the intersection of biology, material science and digital manufacturing techniques, setting her apart with her innovative designs.
Kelp Jacket by Julia Corner. Image courtesy of Julia Corner.
ThreeASFOUR Harmonograph Dress
ThreeASFOUR’s “Biomimicry” Harmonograph Dress explores how biological and natural shapes can be replicated in a fashion context using 3D printing. Inspired by the harmonic vibrations of nature, it demonstrates a delicate balance between the randomness of nature and the precision of digital manufacturing. The 3D printed dress, unveiled in 2016, was the first to demonstrate Stratasys’ extremely flexible and durable Agilus30 material in VeroBlack. Printed on a Stratasys Objet500 Connex3 3D printer, the design is as futuristic as many other 3D printed dresses. With a structured bodice and shoulder pieces similar to the armor worn by warriors of the future, the armor-like quality is reminiscent of heroines preparing for high-tech dystopian scenarios in futuristic films such as Blade Runner and Tron. The piece is likely made for the haute couture runway rather than everyday wear, but who wouldn’t want to try it?
Harmonograph Dress by ThreeASFOUR. Image courtesy of ThreeASFOUR.
Julia Davi’s 3D printed skirt
In 2018, Julia Davi changed the game with her 3D printed skirt, proving that high tech and high fashion can stylishly merge. She used Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) to create a skirt that looks amazing and is sustainably made. Part of a larger collection that showed the potential of 3D printing to create sustainable and wearable fashion, Julia Davi’s 3D printed pleated skirt is visually creative and clever. Its “runway-ready” look is the result of the fusion of the classic elegance of pleats with 3D printing. She proves that the future of fashion can be both beautiful and practical. With the motto “Leading with Sustainable Innovation,” Davi’s designs leave nothing to chance, proving that the future of fashion can be both beautiful and practical.
Julia Daviy 3D printed skirt collection 2018. Image courtesy of Julia Daviy.
Sylvia Heisel’s NAMEDRESS
NAMEDRESS is a tribute to women in STEM. Made with zero-waste 3D printing from compostable bioplastics, Sylvia Heisel’s creations are more than just clothing; they are a statement of sustainability, innovation, and recognition of female pioneers in science and technology. Heisel’s portfolio is filled with amazing garments, so it’s hard to choose just one from her designs. From dresses that make a bold statement to bespoke coats you’ll never want to take off, each piece is designed to leave a lasting impression. Heisel’s approach combines fashion and functionality, ensuring every piece is more than just a garment, it’s an idea that shows what’s possible when creativity and eco-conscious thinking meet.
NAMEDRESS by Sylvia Heisel. Image courtesy of Sylvia Heisel.
Asher Levin’s Dragonfly Wing Bodysuit for Grimes
Grimes’ dragonfly-wing-inspired bodysuit, worn in her 2022 music video “Shinigami Eyes,” was created by designer Asher Levin and Nervous System, a generative design studio by Jessica Rosenkranz and Jesse Lewis-Rosenberg. Mixing biology, art, and music, the suit’s biomimetic design captures the grace and edginess that has been present throughout Grimes’ career. The manga-inspired video was the ideal starting point for Levin’s custom-made nude-scale-print light-up bodysuit.
Grimes (left) and K-pop artist Jennie Kim (right) in the music video for “Shinigami Eyes” from Columbia Records.
“At the time, I was working on Tetra, which was a new style that blended the boundaries of digital and physical fashion,” Levin explains. “The Tetra prints were inspired by the structure of dragonfly wings, and I created computer generated scale prints that I customized with cool and unique prints.”
Levin used virtual reality to create the bodysuit, fitting the hologram to a digital model of Grimes’ body. He then used 3D printing to create the outfit. After printing the dragonfly design onto the garment, Levin added lights inside so the bodysuit would change color throughout the music video. Whether you like her music or not, the results are undeniably stunning.
Behnaz Farahi’s Iridescent Emotive Colors
Commissioned for the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry’s “Wired to Wear” exhibit, the Iridescence Collar is a custom piece of design and technology. The 3D printed piece is an interactive collar inspired by the feathers around the throat of the sand goby. The garment is equipped with a face-tracking camera and 200 rotating feathers that invert color and begin to create patterns in response to the viewer’s movements and facial expressions. For the artist, Iridescence’s goal is to explore “how wearables can be not only a means of self-expression but also an extension of our sensory experience of the world.”
Trained as an architect, Behnaz Farahi explores the possibilities of interactive environments and responsive clothing. Her work focuses on how the body interacts with the space around it through movement, and she has created a range of 3D printed fashion pieces that respond to the wearer’s movements and emotional state.
Behnaz Farahi’s Iridescence, 3D printed Emotion garments. Image courtesy of Behnaz Farahi.
Zac Posen’s rose petal dress at the Met Gala
Jourdan Dunn’s rose petal gown worn by Zac Posen to the Met Gala. Image via Jourdan Dunn’s Instagram.
One of Zac Posen’s 3D printed dresses worn at the Met Gala featured a petal motif. The “Rose Gown” was a masterpiece designed for the star-studded event in New York in 2019. Worn by British model Jourdan Dunn, the bespoke design featured 21 unique overlapping petals, each measuring approximately 50 centimetres and weighing 450 grams. Each petal was printed using stereolithography equipment at Protolabs’ facility in North Carolina over the course of approximately 100 hours and is estimated to be worth approximately $3,000. A collaboration between Posen, Protolabs and GE Additive, the printing and finishing process for the entire dress took more than 1,100 hours, printing the petals in white plastic, priming them and then spraying them with a colour-changing paint often used in automobiles. The finish was a transparent sheen, giving it the perfect air of haute couture and high-tech beauty and intricacy.
While many of the 3D printed designs have cutting-edge shapes and a sci-fi feel, Posen’s designs aimed for a more glamorous, luxurious, and organic look. Posen told The New York Times, “Mother Nature can be simple and abstract, defiant and bombastic, surprising and shocking. You can’t beat Mother Nature, you can only pay homage to her.”
Ashley Alleyne’s 3D printed vest at AMS 2024
Standing out at the Additive Manufacturing Strategies (AMS) 2024 conference, Ashley Alleyne’s 3D printed vest showcases her multifaceted talents as a designer, 3D modeler, and fashion photographer. The piece is a bold expression of today’s creativity, where designers can imagine, create, and wear something revolutionary. Made just four days before AMS 2024, the vest was 3D printed by Alleyne at home using an FDM printer. The red pocket features three scrap designs that give the piece cohesion and is perfect for carrying a small camera or phone. Given her creative talents, we can’t wait to see what Alleyne creates at AMS 2025.
Ashley Alleyne’s 3D printed vest. Image courtesy of Ashley Alleyne.
