3-D printed clothing redefines the future of the fashion industry, promotes sustainability

As technology advances, fashion finds different ways to create new complex pieces. This evolution was on display with Ruth E. Carter winning her second Oscar for best costume design for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and making history for being the first Black woman to win two Oscars. Normally I don’t watch the Oscars, but her acceptance speech really stood out to me.

The complex designs of the main focal pieces of the characters were 3-D printed. Julia Koerner, someone who also specializes in 3-D printing, helped to bring this to life on the big screen. The idea of 3-D printing isn’t a brand-new concept. Iris van Herpen was among the first to send 3-D fashion pieces down the runway in 2010. Over the past decade, technology started to advance, allowing designers to focus on embellishments, accessories and buttons. It often is used in costume jewelry. The benefits of doing this for costume design are that the pieces are lightweight and flexible for the actors to use.

One of the larger 3-D pieces in the film is the crown worn by Queen Ramonda, played by the talented Angela Bassett. The skill and craft to see how 3-D design and the designer work together are beautiful. While 3-D printing isn’t brand new in fashion, it was nice to see costume design deliver the moment at the Oscars and also show a new way to design. When designing the jewelry pieces for the film, Carter spoke about bringing to life “Afrofuturism,” a term found on her website. Carter further explains this concept “Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic that combines science fiction, history and fantasy to explore the Black experience and connect those from the African Diaspora with their lost ancestry.” If you wish to read more, I recommend checking out her website, “Ruth E. Carter Afrofuturism in Costume Design.”

The large benefit of using 3-D printing is sustainability. Creators can recycle their materials and often avoid mass production of a piece due to what 3-D printing is generally used for. 3-D printing allows the designers to focus on the details for specific pieces, which leads to only printing the needed pieces. Another development with 3-D printing that extends beyond the concept of accessories is having people print their own clothes. However, we are still not close to this idea due to the price of a 3-D printer. This is another way that it would be helpful for sustainability—rather than mass buying, someone would be able to make the clothing item within the comfort of their own home.

It is without a shadow of a doubt the large impact that Carter has made within the costume industry and the fashion industry as well. She is showing people that dreams, while sometimes hard to achieve, are possible.