3D printed dress takes centre stage at Miss Universe pageant

Renowned South African fashion designer Gert-Johan Coetzee showcased a stunning 3D printed dress at the grand finale of the Miss Universe pageant. Worn by reigning Miss Universe R’Bonney Gabriel for her final appearance, the blue dress featured 3000 Swarovski crystals and was partly inspired by a mermaid look.

Coetzee has revealed that the dress took 530 hours to create. This is not the first time that he has used 3D printing as a tool to create fashion pieces. In his SA Fashion Week Spring Summer 2013 "Sea Urchin" collection, he collaborated with Vaal University of Technology to create sharp 3D printed spikes that the dresses would be covered in. Inspired by the protective, dangerous spines of the fragile sea urchin, they symbolised armour-like wearable protection for women.

3D printing has been used by other fashion designers to execute elaborate designs. However, it is better known for its use in cosplay, making it extremely easy and accessible to create costume parts and props. Within the world of wearables, the technology has also been used extensively for manufacturing footwear, such as the Brooks Exhilarate BlueLine running shoe. The ability to customise the size exactly for the wearer, as well as to create a complex shape in a single piece makes it particularly useful.

For printing your own cosplay parts and props, you can use a large FDM printer like the Creality K1 Max, the ELEGOO Neptune 4 Max, or the Anycubic Kobra Max.