Article by Stratasys Staff
The Yuima Nakazato 2014 Collection, which premiered on July 25 in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo, features unique neo-futuristic bibs 3D printed using the Stratasys Objet500 Connex multi-material 3D printer.
Yuima Nakazato, a 28-year-old Japanese designer, graduated from the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts with an MA in fashion design. He debuted his first collection in Paris in 2009 and has since received multiple awards. His fame grew internationally when he designed stage costumes for Lady Gaga and tour costumes for Fergie.
The 2014 Collection is inspired by Nakazato’s vision of a neo-futuristic sport — “young street punks, riding on motorcycles, playing a basketball-like game in an underground dune stadium.” For this concept, he designed uniforms with bibs combining numbers and human muscle imagery, emphasizing his philosophy of clothing as an extension of the body.
Starting with digital models of muscle fibers, Nakazato 3D printed the bibs using rubber-like and transparent materials on the Objet500 Connex. These parts were flexible and soft, then hand-colored for the final look.
Sun Junjie, a young designer who collaborated on the project, noted:
“Innovative technologies enable us to go beyond traditional limits. They will not only change reality, but also a world of imagination. The Objet500 Connex 3D Printer is perfect for this kind of creative, iterative manufacturing. It provides amazing 16-micron precision, multi-material capability, and a wide variety of material choices.”
Junjie emphasized that such complex geometries could not have been achieved in such a short time without the Connex multi-material printing process.
Nakazato also envisions practical benefits of 3D printing in fashion:
“I sometimes get urgent orders from the US — for example, ‘Send me this dress today, I have an award ceremony tomorrow.’ Currently, that’s impossible as making and shipping a dress takes days. But in the future, with 3D printing, I could simply email the design file, and she could 3D print it in Hollywood, wearing it on the red carpet the very next day.”
More details about the Yuima Nakazato 2014 Collection can be found on his website: www.yuimanakazato.com
or on his official Facebook page: facebook.com/yuimanakazatoofficial
