Innovation and digital technologies
Continuum – 3D printing your own clothes
Continuum is a New York-based company which was founded by Mary Huang, a designer
and technologist. The name ‘Continuum’ refers to continuity of an idea from inspiration, to
design and manufacturing.
Part design label, part lab, Continuum has been a pioneer in ideas such as software-
based fashion collections and 3D printing. A number of their pieces have been showcased by
leading press and museums internationally.
Their online store features products that encapsulate their inspiration and process in
ready-to-wear pieces, as well as some concept products that may be more akin to art. All the
items are made in NYC.
Their central belief is that fashion should express how we live our digital lives, and
that products express the process and story of their creation. They consider that the most
beautiful fashion could be created entirely by robots, in an autonomous choreography,
without any human labour. That is their prime motivation for their work in 3D printing.
Some Continuum products have revolutionised the thinking behind the way in which
garments are made. Two products in particular exemplify this, the bikini and shoes.
The N12 bikini
The N12 bikini is the world’s first ready-to-wear, completely 3D-printed article of clothing.
All of the individual pieces that make up the bikini, closures included, are made directly by
3D printing and snap together without any sewing. The N12 represents the beginning of what
is possible for the near future.
The N12 is named for the material it’s made out of: Nylon 12. This solid nylon is
created by the SLS 3D printing process. The material is white, strong and flexible, because its
strength allows it to bend without breaking when printed very thin. With a minimum wall
thickness of just 0.7 mm, it is possible to make working springs and almost thread-like
connections. For a bikini, the nylon is beautifully functional because it is waterproof and
remarkably comfortable when wet. The bikini’s design fundamentally reflects the beautiful
intricacy possible with 3D printing, as well as the technical challenges of creating a flexible
surface out of the solid nylon. Thousands of circular plates are connected by thin strings,
creating a wholly new material that holds its form as well as being flexible. The layout of the
circle pattern was achieved through custom written code that lays out the circles according to
the curvature of the surface. In this way, the aesthetic design is completely derived from the
structural design.
N12 is significant in being a ready-to-wear design. Not only is it comfortably
wearable, it is also immediately buyable at an approachable price point, differing from pre-
existing experimentation with 3D-printed fashion that is more avant-garde. And of course as
one would expect, the product is offered in a selection of sizes.
Myth – the 3D-printed shoes
‘Myth’ is the first 3D-printed shoe collection designed to be ready-to-wear. Each design is
90–100% made from components manufactured on small desktop machines and optimised
for scalable 3D printing production. The hand finishing on the shoes is kept to a minimum, in
keeping with the goal of making finished consumer products from 3D printers, so that
designs manifest directly from digital to physical. According to Mary Huang, ‘there is a
definite feeling of magic when pulling out a complete shoe from a glowing box’
(continuumfashion.com, 2014).
The collection contrasts overtly digital geometry with very organic, natural forms.
The tree-like designs are inspired by Bernini’s statue of Apollo and Daphne – the story of the
nymph who turns into a laurel tree. These designs were created to exemplify the beauty of
how objects are made on a 3D printer, where the object ‘grows’ layer by layer. The
triangulated design is inspired by Tron, and computer graphics … avatars in video games that
are composed of low resolution polygons. So they are both about the body transformed, and
myths old and new.
The first design available for purchase from the collection is the Laurel Tree Sandal,
which features the sculptural 3D-printed platform with silk ribbon laces that tie around the
ankles. The company plans to gradually release the other designs after a pre-order period, so
that testing and finishing details can be completed.
In future, there will no doubt be many technical improvements in 3D printing. Costs
of both machines and finished products will drop, and consumer acceptance of the technology
will increase. Meanwhile, Continuum and Mary Huang are at the cutting edge of fashion in
more ways than one.
Questions
1. What appeals to you about printing your own clothes and shoes?
Customise, change on consumer preference
Material sustainable>>recycling
2. Why might the N12 and Myth product range catch on as a mainstream product?
Uniqueness
Functional
Sustainable
3. What would be the driving force behind the adoption of such technological
products?
Consumer & consumption change
Lower labouring cost
4. Is this a quirky and temporary fad or have Continuum really got something here?
5. What other products could the company complement its collection with?
