Named as one of the “25 Forward Thinkers Defining the Future of Fashion”, Sylvia Heisel is a fashion designer and creative director working with new materials, manufacturing and physical computing for apparel.
An expert in 3D printing, functional fashion, and design for smart wearables she is currently developing a work-flow and manufacturing system for 3D printed apparel.
Nora Toure: Sylvia, could you let us know about your background and what brought you into 3D printing in the first place?
Sylvia Heisel: My background is in fashion. I designed an evening-wear line that was carried in US specialty stores for many years. Every season we would create a new collection and promote what was “new” but our customer’s wanted our classic/best selling items and our manufacturing structure limited us to a small range of fabrics and sewing techniques.
As a creative it started to feel very limiting and as a human I became aware of the sustainability issues related to the apparel industry.
I started to looked for solutions in technology and discovered additive manufacturing.
It has been a long process of education and change but I am currently developing new technologies for more sustainable apparel manufacturing through 3D printing.
Read the rest at Women in 3D Printing
