Fashion of the Future

I'm no prophet, nor a daughter of one. I just married a macro-economist who predicts the future (granted, economic) for a living. But at dinner last weekend with IV's husband we got to talking about which technology is poised to bring the most radical change to our future lives. That conversation popped up in my mind today as I read that scientists can now clone adult stem cells - a breakthrough that promises cure but also inherent danger. Cloning, thought prediction, selective memory erasure - these frighten me. 3D printing seems rather less dangerous in comparison, but only at first glance. It was, indeed, 3D printing that was was voted as the most life-caltering technology at our dinner table.

Think about it - once 3D printing becomes less economically prohibitive and more readily available we will be able, supposedly, to print anything by our very selves, and I do mean anything. Dutch architects are already developing the 3D printing of a house (that seems to be my only chance of owning real estate in greater Boston); scientists are working on 3D printing of human organs (happily rendering obsolete Kazuo Ishiguro's dystopic vision in "Never Let Me Go"); and fashion - yes fashion! - has waded into this new field as well.

Footwear:

Potentially foot-ache ending customized shoes.

We have the rather clunky yet foldable sneaker:

And a whole slew of various high fashion experimentation:

The first pic, for example, is of a product of a collaboration with Rem Koolhaas (a celebrity architect). I wonder - do they come in S, M, L, XL?

Clothing:

Iris van Herpen (aka Bjork's favorite) is probably the fashion designer working extensively with 3D printing as of now. Here are a couple of her ideas:

Michael Schmidt, of the Lady Gaga bubble dress fame, designed this:

And there are more of these out there in the vast space of the internets.

So what's my point, ye ask?

As it stands right now, the fashion industry is roughly divided into two strata:
- cheap (made in China)
- luxury (made in Italy).
There is, of course, the most rarified strata as well - couture - made in house, often in Paris.

I don't think that the 3D printing revolution will take out the two top layers. The demand for personalized, old style craftsmanship will remain a luxury, much like it is today. What this technology will alter, however, is mass manufacturing. If every family has a printer - or easy access to one - for all their daily needs manufacturing as it exists today will no longer be needed. What will be needed are design ideas.

Is this the future? Designer coming up with and selling their patented design ideas straight to the public, which, after purchasing the raw materials, will be able to manufacture the items themselves. It will be a kind of a future where clothing is purchased the way music is now - no longer through the hard copy of a CD but as a file.

I am not a prophet, nor the daughter of one. So I wonder.