The Perils of Managing a 3D Print Fashion Show

By on March 4th, 2014 in Ideas

Tags:

3D printing technology is affecting everything. It even affects the way you produce a fashion show.

We spoke with Rachael Shaw, who participated in Fashion Curator Faith Robinson’s recent 3D print fashion catwalk at NYC’s 3D Printshow and learned a great many things about that type of event. 

The focus of this type of show is to exhibit the many 3D printed items. This is a little different from typical fashion shows that are trying to show an entire “look” based on an outfit composed of many parts. 

In a 3D print fashion show, more often than not the feature is specific and often very small items and the remainder of the model’s outfit is not necessarily relevant to what’s being exhibited. 

Some items are very small indeed. The Laser Girls, for example, were showing 3D printed nails that were actually difficult for the audience to notice. 

Larger 3D printed items can be quite heavy, such as this headdress, Quixotic Divinity by Joshua Harker. Decisions must be made about which supermodel may be strong enough to carry it down the runway. 

Many 3D printed items are very fragile, particularly if they include many small detailed features. 3D print technology doesn’t necessarily make them strong and thus they must be very delicately handled by models and assistants backstage. 

Finally, just as the public tends to misunderstand 3D printing, so can supermodels. They can be unaware of the weight, fragility and even the notion of displaying specific elements instead of a “whole look”. 

We think this is ok. Nothing will be learned until something is attempted. For now, we think the science of 3D printed fashion shows seems to be growing well.