3D scanning and printing helps create Balenciaga’s AW 2018 fashion collection

Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia is using 3D scanning and printing for high fashion.

He has used this transformative technology design and create seamless jackets that form part of Balenciaga’s Autumn/Winter 2018 collection. 3D scans were taken of his models’ bodies to achieve the exact tailoring desired and this 3D data was used to create items that were the perfect fit.

The designer 3D scanned the bodies of the models who wore coats and digitally altered the body shapes in a CAD program. These adjusted shapes were then 3D printed and then moulded with a lightweight foam.

As Gvasalia told Vogue, “For the first time, I did digital fittings on a laptop. We 3D scanned bodies and then we altered the shapes in files, 3D printed them, and actually made moulds. The tailoring part that you see is all printed. There are only two seams on the side and the arm hole. There are no darts, there is no construction, and it’s only one layer of fabric.”

Instead of bunching up the fabric to create exaggerated hips on the coats, the designer alternatively draped fabrics they were using of foam pieces on the mannequin, completing the piece by sewing them up. The industry is only just starting to realise the innovation of 3D scanning for fashion and 3D printing within the tailoring sector, but it seems like the trend will only continue to grow.

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