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Hello all,
I bought a Wired Subscription for my husband’s birthday last year (it was a misguided gift unfortunately as he hates it for it consumerist focus). Normally I don’t find anything that much interesting in there but the Kinematic Dress caught my eye.
It piqued my interest because one of my favourite topics of conversation with the Mr. SNS is what the future will look like. One thing we tend to agree on is how everything is eventually just going to be 3D printed- houses, cars, guns, crockery…..; he was adamant it won’t happen for clothes but when I saw this I was like AHA!!!!
Taken from their website:
The Kinematics Dress is a technical achievement but its also an article of clothing. We designed it with comfort and durability in mind, aiming to make a 3D-printed garment that you can actually wear, one that invites movement instead of constraining it.
Here it is in motion……
The Kinematic Dress
Though it creases and flows like satin it was actually 3D printed. The gown was created by  Massachusetts based design studio Nervous System. Each dress starts as a 3D scan of the wearer’s body, the software breaks the design down into thousands of differently sized triangles, then adds hinges to each segment. The process takes 2 days. So far they have printed 9 dresses – the first was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (New York). From this year they will ship made-to-order versions of a smaller skirt and they wont be cheap (think expensive wedding gown prices) :-).
So imagine no swayback adjustments, forward shoulder, FBA, SBAÂ ….etc ……..etc and no need for muslins!
I have to admit I am intrigued about where this will take dressmaking in future.
Would you become a silicon seamstress? Or would you stick with what we have now? Is our particular skill set on its way out? I’d love to hear what you think below. Yay or nay?
Thanks for stopping by and I wish you all a pleasant and lovely weekend.
Peace and love,
Hila
XoX
wakeymakes
May 20, 2016 1:20 pmDefinitely not. The satisfaction from making something flat into something curved that I wear hasn’t lost its appeal yet and hope it never does. This is fascinating though!! K xXx
Hila
May 23, 2016 11:02 amIt is fascinating and I will be watching to see what will happen 🙂
thenaughtybun
May 20, 2016 1:42 pmNay. There’s also something about plasticising our world that I really don’t like. Interesting from a tech perspective, not environmentally sustainable. Tbh, I think plastic should be banned, along with all related products, like polyester. All the microparticles end up in our food chain, clogging instead of giving life. So not a good idea.
Hila
May 23, 2016 11:01 amThis is true unfortunately :-(. There is already too much plastic – but perhaps if they only recycled plastic?
thenaughtybun
May 23, 2016 11:50 amRecycling is brilliant – if people make the effort. I don’t know if 3d printing can be done with recycled materials, dont know enough about the process. What I do know is that I love the feel of linen, wool, and silk, so why look for replacements? If nature provides what we need, in ecologically sound ways, why search for replacements that are not? Some parts of human behaviour are utterly confusing. 😕
PS – I do get that technology is fun, it’s not that. I think so too. But shouldn’t we always strive to make the world better for all? Literally all, the whole planet.
lovelucie1
May 20, 2016 2:45 pmI think it looks beautiful. We can print in sand, marble dust and also even chocolate so there’s no reason way we shouldn’t be printing in a version in viscose in the future.
Hila
May 23, 2016 11:00 amIndeed. I think this tech will soon be with us and it will be very interesting to see where this will take us as home dressmakers.
Linda of Nice dress! Thanks, I made it!!
May 20, 2016 3:13 pmI can’t remember where but I have seen this before. Perhaps an article on the museum? It is a very interesting concept. Probably one that fabric artists could really enjoy. Me, I hope I don’t ever have to wear one. How comfortable can it be?
Hila
May 23, 2016 10:59 amThe write up was saying that it feel like flowing satin against the skin. I’d love to try one on myself.
Linda of Nice dress! Thanks, I made it!!
May 23, 2016 4:36 pmOh they must have a special “plastic” that they use then! Interesting.
JaneyB
May 20, 2016 4:00 pmThe dress is amazing and 3D printing has so many applications which will be of huge benefit, particularly in the field of medicine (eg prosthetics) but I think I’ll be sticking to needle and thread for now!
Hila
May 23, 2016 10:58 amNothing is more therapeutic than sewing for me too 🙂
Sew Exhausted
May 20, 2016 5:12 pmI think it is a pretty sweet idea but it would take the fun and joy out of creating something in my opinion. Part of the joy of wearing or seeing someone wear something you made is knowing the time and effort you put into it as well as the “love.” I think having a printer make a garment makes it “just a garment.”
Hila
May 23, 2016 10:58 amThats a great point. The time definitely adds to a great sense of achievement. Sometimes I feel like its a double edged sword though – on the one hand I would love to make more garments as gifts for friends and family but when I think of how they dont get the effort it takes to make something – it makes me feel like they wont necessarily accept the imperfections that come with home sewing and consequently focus on whats wrong with it….then I end up not wanting to wast my time. I might like the option of being able to make something quick that wont pain me if the recipient treats it less than favorably 🙂
Sew Exhausted
May 23, 2016 5:03 pmI can see your point on that too!
Clarinda Kaleidoscope
May 20, 2016 5:23 pmI think many people sew because it is SO satisfying to use your hands to make something as well as being nostalgic. Many bloggers refer to grandmothers, great aunts etc who they remember fondly for their sewing. I am definitely sticking with the good old days x
Hila
May 23, 2016 10:53 amMmmm that’s quite interesting what you say about how it links with a generational sense of connection. Its not something I have experienced myself since there is no one who made their own clothes on my side of my family. My in laws recently found out that I sew and they were all reminiscing about how their mother (my hubs grandmother) made them dresses and such while they were growing up – the Skype session ended with them saying how wonderful it was that I was continuing a family tradition. I accepted the compliment guiltily though that was not the reason I started sewing!
EmilyAnn Frances
May 24, 2016 4:55 pmI sew for the same reasons, Clarinda and agree with you 100%.
Naomi
May 20, 2016 8:04 pmIt’s really pretty! 3D printers make me despair a little bit for all the plastic cr*p people must have lying around. Also the gun comment -scary! I’m sure they are great tools in certain circumstances though.
Hila
May 23, 2016 10:48 amI read somewhere that someone £D printed a gun that could discharge a bullet. I found that disconcerting. They are doing massively wonderful things in medicine with them though.
CurlsnSkirls
May 20, 2016 9:53 pm3-D doesn’t sound very touchy-feely to me . . . part of sewing’s allure. 😉
Hila
May 23, 2016 10:47 amI do like the tactile nature of sewing too 🙂
Lisa Poblenz (patternandbranch)
May 21, 2016 4:09 amNervous System is so cool! Have you looked at their website? I love this dress. I vote for adding a new technique to all the old ones we already use and love.
Hila
May 23, 2016 10:47 amYes I have they some really cool jewelry pieces there. A bit outside my budget but lovely nonetheless. I am looking forward to seeing where all this will go.
Lisa Poblenz (patternandbranch)
May 23, 2016 11:36 amSadly outside my budget too, but good eye candy. 😉
bibliojenni
May 21, 2016 8:16 amI think this is very cool. People always get nervous when a new technology comes out, and worry if the old will fade away, but in reality that is exceptionally rare. New stuff is usually just incorporated alongside more traditional methods – just look at libraries or the music industry for an example of how this works. Sewing is definitely not going to go away!
Hila
May 23, 2016 10:46 amI hope sewing will never go away and I agree that the new tech will most likely complement the old.
thedementedfairy
May 21, 2016 1:19 pmVery cool- but they were making plastic-link dresses in the 60s and I don’t see many people wearing them now! [or then to be honest…] I agree with most people posting above- the joy of sewing is primarily in the fabric, secondly in solving the puzzle of transforming it into a garment. I think printing tech is best kept to all those fantastic applications in making affordable prosthetics
Hila
May 23, 2016 10:45 amThere is a certain joy in the tactile nature of sewing that would be lost with 3D printing. It will be interesting to see where it all goes.
fabrickated
May 22, 2016 7:28 amI want to be able to chose something that fits me, in a fabric and colour I choose and in a style that suits me. That is why I sew. But I love technology too and one day they will be able to give me this, and then I might stop and make something else. At the moment printing your own fabric is very expensive but one day we will be able to specify it and get one of kind outfits. The three D printing today is miles away from where we will need to get to, but in a few years we will.
Hila
May 23, 2016 10:44 amI agree that it will be there in a few years too.
sewchet
May 24, 2016 8:17 amNo, I think it will remain a museum oddity – the pleasure of dressmaking is in the process. As you say though, it is fascinating.
EmilyAnn Frances
May 24, 2016 4:56 pmHi sewchat. This is true of the paper dress from the 1960s. It had a Campbell’s Soup Can on it and was designed by Andy Warhol.
Loganstitches
June 17, 2016 12:46 pmMaterials would need to have some opacity and a lot more variety to make this appealing. Still think the more interest thing would be predesign and testing to make models for the programmers to learn more about complex garments from.