Fashion designer Laura Thapthimkuna has been fascinated with the inner workings of the universe for quite some time, becoming inspired by the intricate shapes presented in artistically rendered interpretations of black holes and the fourth dimension of space and time. Although Thapthimkuna wanted to implement this universal design into her fashion aesthetic, she found herself too limited by the basic fabric process, and, thus, turned to 3D modeling and 3D printing to conceptualize the Vortex Dress. Thapthimkuna wants the dress to be completely 3D printed, and has launched a Kickstarter to raise $9,000 in order to help with her 3D manufacturing costs.
Thapthimkuna collaborated with UK-based 3D designer Stephen Ions, who used ZBrush to help recreate her dress design on the 3D modeling platform. Ions aided Thapthimkuna in cultivating her vision of creating a spiraling and twisting dress symbolic of the nature of space and time. In order to transition the dress from 3D modeled rendering to 3D printed reality, Thapthimkuna is enlisting the help of New York-based designer Patrick Delorey, who will help her with potential issues such as material and weight distribution, structural problem solving, and proper closure mechanisms within the Vortex Dress.
If Thapthimkuna reaches her $9,000 Kickstarter goal before the campaign ends on October 25th, she will 3D print the dress with an i.materialize SLA printer, likely one of their massive Mammoth machines, which will manufacture the intricate form of the Vortex Dress that Thapthimkuna envisioned, but could never dream of manufacturing by hand. The material used in the printing process is a paintable resin, also produced by i.materialize and used for its high-resolution and ability to handle the hi-gloss paint job. After the 3D printing process is complete, Thapthimkuna will use the remaining contribution to airbrush the entire dress in a black, hi-gloss clear coat, a paint choice that resembles our artistic interpretations of black holes in outer space. Once the dress in complete, Thapthimkuna plans on working with Loose Cannon Films to produce a science fiction short film featuring the Vortex Dress worn on the main character. In addition to the space-themed short, Thapthimkuna also plans to present the Vortex Dress in various museums, galleries, and on the runway of 3D printed fashion design events.
Depending on the amount of money pledged by funders, Thapthimkuna is offering digital rendering of the Vortex Dress, a book of her and Ions original designs, and scaled-down models of the Vortex Dress as Kickstarter rewards. Thapthimkuna’s use of 3D design and 3D printing to manufacture her space-based dress showcases 3D printing’s ability to produce advanced forms that we could never accomplish by hand or any other method. Her work with various designers and artists to create the Vortex Dress is a further indicator that 3D printing technology has a lot to offer the fashion world, and, in fact, has shown the potential to produce garments that are out of this world.
