- "I dreamt the collection, GE Additive helped engineer it and Protolabs printed it." - Zac Posen, American Fashion Designer
Zac Posen, an American fashion designer, collaborated with leading 3D printing companies like GE Additive and Protolabs to create breathtaking 3D printed dresses. The dresses unveiled at the Met Gala 2019 are unlike anything ever made before. The designs range from intricate headpiece to a 21 petal rose dress.
The collection features a range of innovative, sculptural 3D printed dresses and accessories – inspired by the concept of freezing natural objects in motion. Over the last six months Zac Posen and design engineers and experts from GE Additive and Protolabs are exploring a range of 3D printing and digital technologies to create multiple pieces of 3D printed dresses.
3D Printed Garments & Headpiece
The Met Gala 2019 proved to be the stage to unveil the 3D printed dresses. Zac Posen unveiled four gowns and a headdress featuring 3D printed elements and structures. These dresses were worn by Bollywood star, Deepika Padukone, actresses Katie Holmes, Nina Dobrev, Julia Garner and British supermodel Jourdan Dunn.
Jourdan Dunn wore a custom Zac Posen x GE Additive x Protolabs rose gown. The gown features 21 total petals, averaging 20 inches in size and weighing 1 lb. each. Every petal is unique. The petals are fastened in place by a modular cage which is invisible from the outside. This dress was designed to a 3D re-creation of Jourdan’s body.
Deepika Padukone wore a custom Zac Posen metallic pink lurex jacquard gown. This gown includes Zac Posen x GE Additive x Protolabs embroidery which have been sewn on.
Collaborating 3D Printing with Fashion
Zac Posen along with GE Additive and Protolabs have demonstrated the capabilities of the 3D printing technology and proven, once again, that almost anything is possible with 3D printing. With a vision in his sight, Zac Posen and his team have pushed the boundaries of fashion. His latest collaboration is a continuation of his vision of incorporating cutting-edge technology and innovation in his sophisticated and glamorous style.
Zac Posen humbly states the collaboration by saying, “I dreamt the collection, GE Additive helped engineer it and Protolabs printed it.”
The majority of the garments were manufactured at Protolabs’ US additive manufacturing facility near Raleigh, North Carolina, while the bustier was made in Protolabs’ Feldkirchen, Germany facility. The titanium cage for the rose gown, which provides the structure on which the petals attach, was printed at the GE Additive Technology Center in Cincinnati.
Zac Posen conceptualised the designs, GE Additive brought its deep experience in mechanical and industrial design, creative and complex CAD modelling, and additive design for a range of modalities to the collaboration and Protolabs brought its wealth of industry expertise across a wide range of manufacturing processes, materials and industries and even its custom post-processing expertise.
An unlikely collaboration has resulted in an unlikely and unbelievably beautiful creation.
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