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3D technology is shaping the fashion industry

Justine Wilkie (above) and Catherine Ferrity from the Fashion and Luxury brands team at international law firm Taylor Wessing write about how technological advances mean the fashion industry will need to adapt and keep up with ever-changing trends.

Technology and the fashion industry may seem like an unlikely couple but historically technology has helped shape the fashion industry. Technological advances have revolutionised the ways in which fashion items can be produced, whether it be by enabling mass production or by using laser cutters to create intricate designs.

We are now seeing a move from technology merely revolutionising the manufacturing process to new technology being reflected in the designs themselves. The most recent example of this, and maybe the most astonishing, is the use of 3D printing by fashion designers to make cutting-edge creations.

3D printing is a manufacturing method which uses a digital CAD (Computer Aided Design) file created by a 3D modelling program or scanned using a 3D scanner to build the 3D object layer by layer. The materials available for 3D printing are currently limited and most objects are made from a flexible rubber-like plastic. 3D printers, while unable to print fabric, can weave together this plastic material to create a fabric-like structure. It is also possible to 3D print objects in other materials such as sterling silver and stainless steel.

In the last few months 3D printing has caused a stir in fashion circles: designer Iris Van Herpen unveiled her 3D printed designs at Paris Fashion week and Dita Von Teese was seen out in a 3D printed dress designed by Michael Schmidt and Francis Bitoni. There is even a fashion house which only produces 3D designs, including 3D printed bikinis and shoes.

While this progress represents an exciting new frontier for the fashion industry, 3D printing could also pose a threat to fashion designers and luxury brands. This technology could theoretically allow counterfeiters to obtain a CAD file and mass-produce items, infringing any design rights in the process.

We are some way off from fabric pieces being 3D printed, but this does not mean that this technology does not pose an immediate threat to the fashion industry. Items such as jewellery or belt buckles which carry distinctive designs and trade marks can be copied as well as items like plastic shoes.

Luxury brands could also face a threat from ordinary consumers. At-home 3D printers are already available on the market. If you can download the CAD file (in the way pirated music files can currently be downloaded) for an expensive “must have” item and create it yourself within a matter of hours, at home, for a fraction of the cost many could be tempted to forego the real deal and the price tag that goes with it, particularly when the finished product is identical to the original rather than a dodgy knock-off. Enforcement of rights in these situations would be practically impossible.

In light of this new technology IP law and the fashion industry itself will need to adapt sooner rather than later and learn from the mistakes made by other industries. One of the most effective ways to limit piracy is to ensure the public has access to a wide variety of good value licensed products e.g. brands could provide their own CAD files to consumers to allow authorised production of their designs for a price. This will give the industry an opportunity to monetise its rights and will legally give consumers the benefit and convenience of the latest technological advances.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Taylor Wessing .