The American generative design studio Nervous System has developed a 4-D printed dress made from its smart Kinematics software, a 4D printing system for generating complex, foldable forms.
The custom-fit outfit, which has been recently acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, has been created directly from body scans and requires no assembly unlike traditionally made clothing from flat material that is cut and painstakingly pieced together.
The dress is developed from a smart folding strategy of compressing objects prior to printing into smaller form which when unfolded post-printing takes its intended shape.
The outfit incorporates an intricately patterned structure of 2,279 unique triangular panels interconnected by 3,316 hinges, all 3-D printed as a single piece in nylon.
The smart dress behaves as a fluid fabric which flexibly moves in response to body movement. The outfit is customizable, from fit and style to flexibility and pattern, with the studio’s clothing app Kinematics Cloth.
Founded in 2007, the Massachusetts-based studio Nervous System works at the intersection of science, art and technology. The studio writes computer programs based on processes and patterns found in nature and uses these programs to create unique and affordable art, jewelry and house wares. (PB)
