One complaint that 3D printed product manufacturers get more often is related to the low perceived value of plastics. While we wait for material science to give us better and better 3D printable composites, one way to get around it is by combining 3D printing with other processes and materials when producing end products. In this case, few materials in the world are better at adding value than Strass Swarovski crystals, so that is exactly what the new Italian brand IPNOTIX for its lines of 3D printed fashion accessories.
Italians do it best, especially when it comes to riding new trends and making them appealing to the mainstream (that is basically what the fashion industry does; it’s called “trendsetting”). IPNOTIX launched a new line of accessories that combines 3D technology with very fashionable Italian style. In order to do this, the brand combined two different creative approaches: one is that of Studio Roncaglia, which specialises in 3D graphics and technology, the other is Puntopiù, a creative studio with over thirty years experience in the fashion sector.
These two experiences combined in the very first item created by IPNOTIX, a 3D printed butterfly that – the online brand’s founders explain – had a beautiful geometrically intricate shape and, yet, lacked a “soul”. That soul came in the form of a sprinkle of Swarovski crystals. “We really took care of studying the ideal mix of materials and working techniques to make every item unique and impossible to imitate,” stated IPNOTIX’s founder and managing director Fabio Roncaglia.
This combination has already inspired several new collections, inspired by “colorful and multi-sensory” Urban Art. Its creators describe it as being “moved by the hammering rhythm coming from 3D technology. Piece by piece, close to each other, the Ipnotix bijoux are conceived to create a multitude of effects and passages from one world to another. A sensory experience where nobody is kept out, the touch stimulated by the 3D experience, the sight Bewitched by a multitude of colours and the amazing Swarovski light effects, the hearing deceived by the beating of technology and…finally, with a little imagination, you can even smell the 3D flowers scent.”
The first lines of products include Magic Garden, a selection of flower-inspired earrings, pins and pendants; and Street Beat, another range of showy and original accessories clearly targeted at teens. The final line of products – for this initial phase – is Poker, which includes earrings and necklaces with Swarosvski-covered Aces. Certainly these are not accessories that are going to pass by unnoticed, but, then again, that is exactly the point. It is about time to strut that 3D printed stuff.
