La Moda & 3D Printing Technology are a High Fashion Match Made in Italy

Gruppo Meccaniche Luciani is an Italian footwear mold manufacturer. Their creations are often demonstrations of La Moda at its finest.

Gruppo Meccaniche Luciani has invested heavily in new technologies and advanced production systems, and they say their flagship tool is the high definition 3D printer.

Now they’ve unveiled a six-piece collection of color, multi-material 3D printed fashion pieces which include shoes, a purse, and a sort of high-fashion breastplate which were made with Stratasys’ unique triple-jetting Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-Material 3D Production System for the Lineapelle Fair.

Each piece features inspiration from naturally occurring curves. The collection of three pairs of shoes, a bag, bracelet, and top, demonstrate vibrant colors from bright pink to contrasting monochromes, and the combination of soft materials mean they could all be 3D printed in a single build.

One of the pairs of shoes in the collection features intricate latticed curves, and Elisa Luciani, the Sales Manager from Gruppo Meccaniche Luciani, says they could only have been built with Stratasys’ technology.

“When designing the shoe we were concerned about the rigidity and resistance of the heels, but the 3D printer’s ability to combine varying densities of rigid and soft material simultaneously, enabled us to manufacture the whole shoe in one print,” Luciani says. “Previously it was impossible to produce prototype parts such as boots and bags quickly without making a sample mold. With 3D printing, we can produce high precision prototypes significantly quicker than traditional prototyping allowed.”

The monochrome top and bracelet were produced using a combination of advanced materials and avoided the uncomfortable rigidity of typical plastic materials using advanced, rubber-like alternatives from the Stratasys line.

“Our main requirement was to produce a highly-detailed, realistic wearable,” Luciani said. “Using Stratasys’ materials, we were able to 3D print a top with varying levels of softness that could be worn in direct contact with the skin. The ability to combine rigid and soft materials simultaneously is unique and would have otherwise entailed manual manufacture and individual assembly of each material.”

The handbag, reminiscent of a flower, was composed of triangles built layer-by-layer to mimic a sort of futurist ethos. Luciani says the durability of Stratasys’ rigid opaque VeroBlack material makes it possible for the bag to withstand the rigors of everyday use.

“3D printing enables us to offer a new line of items to our clients. We can design and 3D print realistic prototypes in a matter of hours and incorporate any required design iterations before starting full production,” Luciani says. “As we can modify the design and 3D print the revised product the same day, we minimize costs and reduce our turnaround time significantly, while maintaining the highest-quality.”

According to Davide Ferrulli, Stratasys’ Italian Territory Manager, the key to the process was the ability to combine flexible, rigid, and colored parts all in a single build. He says that where designers were once constrained by the limitations of traditional materials and techniques, Stratasys printers give artists the chance to “bring their creative ideas to life with incredible realism.”

What do you think of the VeroBlack material and the Objet500 Connex3 Color Multi-material System? Have you ever used the system? Let us know in the La Moda and 3D Printing Technology forum thread on 3DPB.com.