Exploring the Creation of 3D Printed Fabric and Fashion | 3D Universe Untethered Episode 24

3D printing provides unlimited design freedom by eliminating traditional manufacturing constraints. Apply that to fabrics and clothing, and you can achieve some phenomenal results.

Join us as we sit down with two accomplished artists who have been applying 3D printing to the design and production of new and innovative fabrics and fashion elements. We'll hear from artist Susana Marques, an artist based in Portugal, and Luisa Mendes Arruda, a Brazilian artist and e-NABLE volunteer based in Portugal.

Below you can see some of their work with 3D printed fabric and learn a little more about them but we do encourage you to watch and listen to this episode so that you can hear them share about their projects and show some of their amazing creations!

Susana Marques | 3D Printed Fabrics Designer | Portugal

Susana Marques is 25 years old, a PhD candidate, with a masters in fashion design with an emphasis on technology. She's self-taught and passionate about the arts and fashion. From a very young age, she was creating clothes for her barbies out of scrap materials she found at her aunt's textile factory, sewing them together with needles and thread.

But it was in 3d printing technology that she found her biggest passion for fashion! She has created numerous 3D printed fabric designs that are honestly hard to believe are 3D printed.

Susana also loves to recycle plastics she gets from the textile industry and has developed her own filaments to ensure that her vision comes to life in the way she imagines them.

During our episode of 3D Universe Untethered, she shared a new 3D printable fur design she has been working on, which you can see in the video clip below from her Instagram page.

When she isn't creating incredibly beautiful new 3D printed fabric, Susana is also a temporary lecturer at the University of Beira Interior and seeks to convey to students the magic behind the processes she uses.

She loves the world of research but believes that the ideal would be to bring together the industrial and business world and the academic world, she considers that both should feed off each other and diverge less. It is with this in mind that since the age of 21, she has been looking for the integration of additive manufacturing and other technologies in the fashion area, focusing on everyday textiles. She believes that "for every conventional textile there will be a corresponding 3D printed version".

To see Susana Marques' work, please visit: https://www.instagram.com/_sarque_/

Luisa Mendes Arruda | 3D Printed Fabrics Designer | Brazil

Luisa is a fashion designer⁠ and researcher at Fibrenamics, the International R&D platform for the development of innovative products based on natural fibers and composites / Portugal.⁠

Luisa was a member at the National Board of Fashion Cultural Policies with the Ministry of Culture, Brazil (CNPC-MINC), from 2015 to 2017. ⁠⁠

Luisa Mendes Arruda was born in the city of Vitória, state of Espírito⁠ Santo, Brazil, in 1989. She is a PhD student in Textile Engineering at the⁠ University of Minho in Portugal, holds a Master's degree in History and Art Criticism⁠ from the Federal University of Espírito Santo, and an MBA in Business⁠ Management from the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in Brazil.

For Luisa, ending up in the fashion design world making 3D printed fabric was a surprise not only to her but her family! A friend of hers suggested they take a fashion design course at night as a second option to her studies and she agreed to try. From the very beginning of the class, she realized that fashion design was something she was very passionate about and felt a deep relationship to her garments and what a garment can represent for the people who wear it. ⁠⁠

As a Researcher and Designer, her areas of interest⁠ and expertise are Wearable Technologies; Smart textiles; Prostheses; and 3D⁠ printing.

Luisa has been an active part of the e-NABLE Volunteer Community for many years and has presented her work at past e-NABLE conferences. She focuses on creating 3D printed prosthetics that are fashionable and give the wearer a device that makes a statement not just as a fashion accessory, but also about themselves.

To see Luisa Mendes Arruda's work, please visit: https://www.instagram.com/mendesluisa/

Exploring the Creation of 3D Printed Fabrics & Fashion | Video

The video for Episode 24 of 3D Universe Untethered is live on YouTube for those that prefer to watch and learn about the 3D printing materials available. You can find the link to the video here.

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Podcast Link | Episode 24

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