3D-Printed Jewelry's Designs on the Future

Design is about dimension and it's taken on a new facet with 3D printing. At the Decoded Fashion event at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week this week, designer Kimberly Ovitz; Carine Carmy, the director of marketing at Shapeways; and Markus Ferrigato, head of innovation at Swarovski Professional discussed the role of 3D printing in fashion with Nicholas Thompson, NewYorker.com editor.

Ovitz partnered with Shapeways for the 3D-printed jewelry that accompanied the rest of her looks down the Fall 2013 runway at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Offering her designs has been a boon to her as an emerging designer, with no worry about back inventory and the ability to make adjustments with customer feedback. There's also the nearly immediate nature of delivery.

"Consumer demands are changing," Ovitz told Thompson. "Everyone wants everything at the touch of a button."

Ovitz noted that people could order the day of the runway show and receive a piece in two weeks, a drastic reduction in the time it normally takes for runway looks to make their way into closets.

Ovitz's jewelry designs are flowy and prickly at the same time, and were inspired by the built-in natural defense mechanisms of animals and insects. Each piece in the line comes in nylon and metal, so that the wearer has a choice of heft and hue. Shapeways's Carmy said that there's been an acceleration in the types of materials that can be 3D printed. What was just two or three not so long ago is now up to 30. "Materials innovation is following consumer demand," she said.

The Prosoma collar necklace (above) takes its form from exoskeletons and comes in a sleek gold-tinted stainless steel version or for those who do not want it to weigh heavily on the clavicle, black or silvery nylon. The Spicules earhook and Thana earcuff add azure to the line's color palette. The Coelom bracelet and Squama ring spiral around the wrist and finger.

Despite the many options for each style in the line, Ovitz said that going forward for each of her designs, she wants the consumer to be able to pick the color they want and the material. This inclusion of the consumer is akin to social media, Carmy said. "You can see the power of letting the consumer in," she said. What it means to engage in that dialogue is one of the considerations and benefits for designers, Carmy feels.

Ferrigato said that Swarovski will engage with 3D printing in the future. The goal is "to really make each individual a designer themselves and support them."

Meanwhile, Fashion Week was host to the Decoded Fashion Hackathon, which awarded its top prize to SWATCHit, an app that connects fashion designers with global artisans and producers. Earlier in the day, designer Zac Posen spoke at a separate event about his love of social media, while Foursquare founder David Crowley dished on how the fashion industry could best take advantage of his service.