Plastics make a presence through 3D printing at the Met Gala

Zac Posen, GE Additive and Protolabs unveiled a collaboration featuring a range of sculptural 3D printed garments and accessories, which included plastics and inspired by the concept of freezing natural objects in motion.

Four gowns and a headdress featuring 3D printed elements and structures were unveiled at the Met Gala, and worn by British supermodel Jourdan Dunn, actresses Nina Dobrev, Katie Holmes, Julia Garner and Bollywood icon, Deepika Padukone.

Jourdan Dunn wore a custom Zac Posen x GE Additive x Protolabs rose gown. The gown features 21 total petals, made of Accura Xtreme White 200 durable plastic and printed on a stereolithography (SLA) machine. The petals are finished with primer and colour shifting automotive paint (DuPont “Twilight Fire” Chromalusion). 

While Katie Holmes wore a custom Zac Posen gown with a Zac Posen x GE Additive x Protolabs palm leaf collar accessory. The pearlescent purple palm leaves are draped over the shoulders and attached to the gown at the neckline. The palm leaves are made of Accura 60 plastic and printed on a stereolithography (SLA) machine. 

Julia Garner wore a custom Zac Posen ombré silver to gold lamé gown with a Zac Posen x GE Additive x Protolabs headpiece. The intricate printed vine headpiece with leaf and berry embellishments is printed as a single piece and made of Nylon 12 plastic and printed on a Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) machine.

Many of the garments were manufactured at Protolabs’ US additive manufacturing facility near Raleigh, North Carolina.

The titanium cage for the rose gown, which provides the structure on which the petals attach, was printed at the GE Additive Technology Centre in Cincinnati.

“I dreamt the collection, GE Additive helped engineer it and Protolabs printed it,” said Zac Posen.