This 3D-printed jacket wants to change how you shop
3D-printed garments are making serious strides, from New Balance's midsole to Chanel suits.
But nothing has been very compelling when it comes to men's suiting, until now.
Boston-based athleisure brand Ministry of Supply announced its Seamless Jacket today, which prints an entirely seamless garment. That means nothing is sewn together – no sleeves, no lapels. There are no strings to attach anything, only a single garment that's pretty handsome.
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The brand claims that traditional off-the-rack suit, and its cut-and-sew construction, isn't perfect to the body — they are formed on a mannequin. Of course, we know that a little tailoring can fix this problem. But not everyone can afford that time or luxury.
Ministry of Supply utilizes a "3D Robotic Knitting" process, which goes from cones of yarns to final garment.
"This is the next generation of manufacturing and design for clothing," said Gihan Amarasiriwardena, cofounder and chief design officer of the company, to Mashable. "It could lead to a world where a customer could walk into a store, have measurements taken via a scan and order a garment that's printed for their unique body shape."
Amarasiriwardena believes this is the future of apparel, one that utilizes sophisticated technology to replace sketches on flat paper.
"The result is clothing that's constructed to shape around our bodies and molds to fit the human form exactly," he said.
Not only does it supposedly fit better, it's supposed to be more sustainable, as it wastes less fabric.
The cut-and-sew process can waste up to 30% of fabric. With this method, the co-founder said there's zero waste.
A jacket takes around 1.5 hours to create, which may seem extensive, but given that most suits take much longer to hand sew and cut, it's a fast turnaround.
Most impressive about the 3D printed garment is the machine's ability to thicken some parts of a jacket, while thinning others. This means some parts will be better ventilated for a comfortable fit.
Ultimately, the jacket's process might enable manufacturers to better cater to the needs and unique bodies of its customer base — something we can definitely get behind.
The jacket goes for $250 and is now available at Ministry of Supply.
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Topics 3D Printing
David joined the Mashable team as its first fashion hire. He's written for the Wall Street Journal, Elle, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Details, Nylon, Refinery29, Fashionista, and covered the men's market at Women's Wear Daily. David has appeared on E!, Vh1, the Style network, and was a stylist at Capitol records.
