Eco-Friendly 3D Printing at the Center of Designer’s Latest Collection

3D printing has done quite a bit for the fashion world, allowing designers to create new geometries and textures that have redefined the runway. The technology also enables designers to create sustainable garments, and that’s a major focus of Ganit Goldstein, a graduate of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. Goldstein recently launched a collection called “Between the Layers,” which started as graduation project. Seven outfits and six pairs of shoes make up the collection, which was made from 3D printed PLA and TPU.

Goldstein aimed to combine traditional techniques with new technologies for the collection.

“My work begins by examining the characteristics of the material, the qualities with which I can work with,” she said. “Working with 3D software gives me the freedom to test which boundaries can be broken. It provides the understanding that the connection to the traditional craft material will create a completely new essence to the original material. For example, the technique of 3D layer printing allows me to re-examine which layers can be added and what new connections I can create.”

Goldstein spent some time in Japan as part of an exchange program at the Tokyo University of the Arts. The country helped to inspire her new collection.

“I was extremely fascinated by the Japanese overall aesthetic and design, their very unique perspective and ways of looking at things,” she said.

She began working with upcycling, shredding second-hand fabrics and industrial textile leftovers and then creating new garments using a Japanese textile technique called IKAT weaving.

“The IKAT weaving technique enables me to make patterns from the dyeing of the strings before the final weaving process,” she said.

When she returned home to Israel, Goldstein developed her own weaving process using a Prusa i3 Mk3 3D printer, combining the printing with hand-woven layers. Sustainability is an important value to her, and she appreciates 3D printing for the environmentally friendly opportunities it opens up.

“The technique of 3D printing in fashion is a great sustainable tool,” she said. “It enables designers to experience wide-ranging creative freedom, whilst giving the ability to exercise complete control over what we print and create. With 3D printing, we are able to choose exactly which materials to print and how much we need, as well as the precise pattern we want to obtain, without incurring unneeded waste, a notion that is both empowering and impactful.”

Goldstein uses many reusable and recycled materials in her work, and would like to work more with recycled plastics in the future.

“Creating designs from recycled plastic is an ever-growing interest of mine and I would like to create a growing number of designs that utilize this material,” she said.

In addition to her own 3D printing and weaving techniques, Goldstein also worked with Stratasys to 3D print a pair of shoes, using a Connex3 color 3D printer. Lately she has been touring the world with her collection of 3D printed clothes and shoes, participating (and winning second place) in “Redress Design Award 2018” in Hong Kong, as well as in the 2018 “Arts of Fashion” Competition at The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco

“Working with the traditional methods, and combining them with new technology is my vision and my inspiration for my future works,” she said.

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