Michael Schmidt a designer from NYC and architect Francis Bitonti created a 3D-printed dress for burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese. It was the first time ever that a fashion design conceived and engineered in powdered nylon by the revolutionary process of 3D printing can move like a textile. The floor-length nylon gown was made using selective laser sintering (SLS), where material is built up in layers from plastic powder fused together with a laser. Neither pen and paper, nor needle and thread were used by designer Michael Schmidt and his high-tech collaborator Shapeways.
The rigid plastic components are fully articulated to create a netted structure that allows for movement. Spirals based on the Golden Ratio were applied to a computer rendering of Von Teese's body so that the garment fits her exactly. Draped over a nude silk corset, the black-lacquered dress is cinched in at the waist and exaggerated at the shoulders, and embellished with 12,000 Swarovski crystals.
Dita Von Teese appeared on March 4th at Ace Hotel New York as a futuristic vision of the femme fatale in a gown fully realized and rendered by computers—and one that moves with all the sensuality and fluidity of its wearer.
