Having coming off a binge of Project Runway episodes, I am now qualified to provide commentary on any form of fashion out there, 3D printed or otherwise. And, so, I can say that the POSEIDON project, developed by three students from the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering for their Computation Fashion Master Class, is a 3D printed masterpiece.
Inspired by the scales of a shark, POSEIDON is a high-collared capelette that connects 600 movable scales to create a piece that protects the wearer’s delicate throat, while making them look good in the process. Due to the interconnected nature of the scales, the garment remains flexible, giving the wearer the essential biological function of turning their head. At the same time, it acts as a piece of exoskeleton, combining fashion with function to augment the wearer’s human form in the most fabulous way possible.
The design was the collaborative result of Hillary Sampliner, Andrea van Hintum, and Billy Dang, who had the piece laser sintered in nylon by Shapeways last year for their NYU Polytechnic class. Sampliner says in the video below, “We wanted to create something that was movable and flexible, but also had something of a rigid structure – so kind of soft and hard mixed together.” She continues, “Hopefully, someday, it will be used in the tech industry and you’ll be wearing it.” Dang adds, “We really wanted to take advantage of the 3D Printing process. With 3D printing, you can print different sizes, complicated parts all interconnected; all on one shot. You can’t really match that with any other manufacturing process.”
Though 3D printing has only been featured on Project Runway once so far, through the independent work of contestant Justin LeBlanc (interviewed by 3DPI two years back), the work of these designers suggest that, if the show wants to remain fashion forward, it may have to devote an entire episode to the technology. With the slow printing speeds of the tech, however, Project Runway’s producers will have to plan the episode accordingly. I’m sure that Tim Gunn will somehow be able to make it work.
