Armed with a 3D printer and inspired by Iris Van Herpen, I wanted to make flexible 3D printed garments out of TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane). The final collection included a dress, corset, skirt, beret, bucket hat, and full length ties.
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Before jumping into designing garments, I wanted to experiment what textures and patterns were possible with TPU. Some textures were created using CAD, while others were made by removing the top layer of the print and exposing various infill patterns below. Each pattern was categorized by its flexibility, thickness, and opacity, in order to determine the type of garment it could create.
My printer bed was only 8” x 8”, so every garment was made of smaller pieces and then “welded” together using a 3D printing pen. The corset and dress were made by modifying existing sewing patterns to work with 3D printing, while the hat, tie, and skirt patterns were made from scratch. The garments were 100% TPU, including 3D printed buttons and virgin filament as corset laces & straps.
After being accepted into Stanford Fashion X’s 2023 Runway, I got paired with 3 models (special thank you to Nicole, Julia, & Sean) and tailored the garments to their sizes. Then, I had the privilege of watching them walk the runway in the Cantor Arts Center; they were absolutely incredible and it was a night I will never forget!
