October 2026
3D Printing
in Fashion
What if a garment didn’t start with fabric and scissors,
but with a digital design and a 3D printer?
3D printing has grown into a fully fledged design tool in fashion. Complex shapes and structures go straight from digital model to something tangible.
In her haute couture, Iris van Herpen combines digital fabrication with traditional craftsmanship. Danit Peleg started at home with desktop printers and creates ever more wearable printed clothing. And with a body scan, a design can be tailored to one specific wearer.
3D-Printing in Fashion shows different sides of this new way of making: from printed textile structures and flexible materials to printing on existing fabrics and combining it with traditional handcraft.
The 3D printer thus becomes a new tool that turns code into something you can see, touch and wear.
Rolling Ruffles Dress
LABELEDBY.
This dress explores shape-shifting structures through the transformation of textile. By stretching the fabric during the 3D printing process, tension is built into the material, causing it to deform and transform once the tension is released. The resulting shapes reveal the layered nature of labour and make the making process visible within the garment itself. The dress thus becomes a reflection of the physical effort, tension and time that went into its construction.
About LABELEDBY.
LABELEDBY. is a fashion-tech research and development studio founded by engineers Jessica Joosse and Fabienne van der Weiden. During their studies at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) they discovered a shared passion for sustainable production, design research, 3D technology and fashion. Together they have built a broad practice in consultancy, textile innovation and exclusive fashion. Their design expertise, hands-on knowledge and love of creative collaboration make LABELEDBY. an inspiring partner for forward-looking companies and independent makers. Our mission is to develop and promote ethical, sustainable practices that can help transform the way fashion is designed, made and consumed.
photography by Yma Garay
Open Source Scale Dress
Anouk Wipprecht
The Open Source Scale Dress is a modular system of 3D-printed moving elements driven by small servo motors. This version adds feathers as inserts in the printed holders. Different materials and shapes create a different dress every time. The design is open source: print the parts, build the mechanism and design your own robotic garment.
Can you print and build your own robotic dress?
Find the DIY instructions here.
About Anouk van Wipprecht
Anouk Wipprecht is a Dutch pioneer in FashionTech: the combination of fashion, technology, robotics and interaction design. For more than 25 years she has explored how electronics, sensors, robotics and AI can turn clothing into interactive systems. She has worked with Intel, Google, Microsoft, Audi, Cirque du Soleil and Disney, and is known for robotic dresses that respond to proximity and movement.
In 2026 she designed the illuminated trophies for the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix with Royal Delft. She is a jury member, lecturer, mentor and speaker, and ambassador of The Robots Are Coming in Delft.
photography by Frank Ruiter
Hexagon Galaxy Dress
Jojanneke Tamis
About Jojanneke Tamis
Jojanneke Tamis (1989) is a Haarlem-based designer working at the intersection of fashion, craftsmanship and technology. She combines traditional craft techniques with computational design and 3D printing to create experimental clothing, textile structures and sculptural fashion pieces. Self-taught, she uses 3D printing as both a design medium and an experimental material, looking for forms that are difficult or impossible with traditional techniques.
In September 2026 she won the Innovation Award, Best Maker 2026 at Maker Days Eindhoven. The jury praised how she brings together technical knowledge, material experimentation and creativity.