A Case Study on Collaborations in 3D Printing Fashion

Abstract

1) The present study observes collaboration methods in which 3D printing was a part of the fash-ion manufacturing process, expression methods of such cases, and their ripple effects. As a result, the three types of collaborations between fashion designers and other industry fields, fashion brands and 3D printing companies, and fashion designers and artists. Case analysis results and ripple effects found according to each collaboration method were as follows. First, in collabo-rations found were between fashion designers and other industry fields, 3D printed fashion works with futuristic images were seen through the fusion of future industries, which claim to support cutting edge digital technology, and creative fashion design. As they were mainly collaborations between automobile industries with cutting edge images or digital related industries and fashion designers, they were expressed as a new form of experimental clothing, and were used as strat-egies to improve future corporate images of the high tech industry. Second, in collaborations be-tween fashion brands and 3D printing technology businesses, the sporting good brands and the shoe industry attempted to let their products be known through the promotion of functional ma-terial or ergonomic technology. While they emphasize practicality by mainly using flexible materi-al, they were mainly proposed as functional sporting goods for famous players or as shoe accesso-ries, so methods are still used for public distribution as brand promoting marketing strategies. Third, with collaborations between fashion designers and artists, creative pieces were shown through the grafting of 3D printing technology, the artistry of artists, and the experimentation of fashion designers. In particular, the innovative value of fashion as art was created through the union of the artistic 3D modeling technology support of artists and the creativity of designers. Like this, 3D printing fashion can graft the cutting edge nature of fashion to other industry fields through collaborations, enhancing pacesetting images, and in the fashion field, it can im-prove possibilities for innovations in the fashion industry through the support of 3D printing technology businesses and artists, raising expectations towards future human living.