BACK TO THE FUTURE. By proudly displaying on Instagram her new Balenciaga 3D coat, rapper Cardi B joined singer Lady Gaga and dancer Dita Von Teese in their shared enthusiasm for fashion tech.
By Ludmilla Intravaia
The Balenciaga coat worn by singer Cardi B on Instagram last week was appreciated by her fans. In any case, at least among the 2,126,405 followers who marked, with a like, their interest in this 3D piece, signed Demna Gvasalia, the artistic director of the French house.
Picture of singer Cardi B, in 3D Balenciaga coat, posted on Instagram, 27th November, 2018
This plaid coat with very generous shapes is not an ordinary model. It comes from Balenciaga's autumn-winter 2018 - 2019 collection, showcasing a new 3D printing tailoring process. Thus, catwalk models’ bodies were scanned to make molds, on which were plated the tweeds, wools, velvet and other materials of the season.
This attraction for a fashion using 3D printing is not new among celebrities. Lady Gaga, pioneer of fashion tech, has set her sights on two dresses made by 3D printing, in 2013, year of the release of her album ArtPop.
Singer Lady Gaga, wearing 3D printing Anemone dress, 1st September, 2013, in London
The soap bubble-producing Anemone dress and the Parametric Sculpture dress were born from the collaboration of Studio XO, London fashion technology laboratory with TechHaus, the technological department of Haus of Gaga, the collective of artists, born in 2008 and dedicated to the American singer’s image, including her costumes and clothes. The dresses were made by Materialise, a Belgian 3D printing company.
Singer Lady Gaga, wearing 3D printing Parametric Sculpture dress, 10th November, 2013, in New York
That same year, New York based fashion technology designer Francis Bitonti created a 3D print dress for American burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese.
Burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese wearing 3D printing dress by Francis Bitonti, in 2013
Inspired by the theory of the golden ratio and the Fibonacci numbers, an Italian mathematician, this first dress articulated in 3D printing was realized by the company Shapeways, additive manufacturing allowing to obtain forms impossible to generate by means of traditional tools of production. So many innovative tracks that should provide us, in the future, many pretty fashion tech surprises on red carpets around the world. Le Boudoir Numérique remains of course on the lookout.