Dezeen Magazine

3D-printed fabrics by Richard Beckett woven into Pringle of Scotland's ready to wear garments

3D-printed fabrics by Richard Beckett woven into Pringle of Scotland's ready to wear garments

Fashion brand Pringle of Scotland has incorporated laser-sintered nylon fabric into garments for its Autumn Winter 2014 collection, shown yesterday at London Fashion Week.

3D-printed fabrics by Richard Beckett woven into Pringle of Scotland's ready to wear garments

Pringle of Scotland collaborated with material scientist Richard Beckett to create a series of 3D-printed fabrics for the collection using selective laser sintering (SLS).

3D-printed fabrics by Richard Beckett woven into Pringle of Scotland's ready to wear garments

To produce textiles that could move like traditional cloths, Beckett chose specific machinery that could create the tiny nylon parts needed to keep the material flexible.

3D-printed fabrics by Richard Beckett woven into Pringle of Scotland's ready to wear garments

"I used an EOS Formiga P100 SLS system due to its ability to build at high definition, one of the few systems that would allow you to build such complex movable parts at this size," Beckett told Dezeen.

3D-printed fabrics by Richard Beckett woven into Pringle of Scotland's ready to wear garments

The printed sections were then handwoven into the knitwear through small hooks on the underside or stitched on top of the wool.

3D-printed fabrics by Richard Beckett woven into Pringle of Scotland's ready to wear garments

Bands of the material formed cuffs for jackets while larger elements created diamond-shaped Argyle patterns across pullovers and sleeveless tops.

3D-printed fabrics by Richard Beckett woven into Pringle of Scotland's ready to wear garments

3D-printed garments have previously appeared in Haute Couture fashion collections by designers such as Iris van Herpen and a bespoke garment for Dita Von Teese, but Pringle of Scotland claims that this is the first time the technology has been used for ready to wear.

3D-printed fabrics by Richard Beckett woven into Pringle of Scotland's ready to wear garments

"I wanted to explore a move away from the more sculptural costume approach of such pieces, towards a more material, haptic-based approach," said Pringle of Scotland head of design Massimo Nicosia.

3D-printed fabrics by Richard Beckett woven into Pringle of Scotland's ready to wear garments

The Autumm Winter 2014 collection was presented during this season's London Fashion Week, which concludes tomorrow.

3D-printed fabrics by Richard Beckett woven into Pringle of Scotland's ready to wear garments