My name is Mark Vèlez, I’m 26 years old and I’m from Zarauz, a little town in the north of Spain. I’ve always loved fashion, so I tried to find a school near my town, and I found it in Donostia, that’s in the north of the Basque Country of Spain.

My favourite parts of this industry are designing, sewing by hand, and patternmaking.

After my studies, I created my own brand called Darrk Studio (see my Instagram @darrk.studio), inspired by the fashion greats in my opinion, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and other designers.

I make mostly upcycling, so I recollect other garments from second hand stores and I convert it in my own fashion, deconstructed.

My final customer is unisex, I don’t care what gender is my customer. I make fashion for all bodies and all the people.

Right now I’m excited because I’m working on a new collection called, in Basque, Ezezaguna, that in English is Unknown. It’s going to be ten upcycled pieces, because I have been invited to a show in Tenerife. If you see from the photos, each item is unique, it’s a work of art, about structure and pattern and self expression.

If I had to give some advice to designers just starting out now, I’d say that you have to work a lot, to study a lot. You need to have knowledge in the field, the information that you need in the background in order to be successful making your own creations.

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3D printing space in Balab – AEG

3D printing in the sustainable development of textile processes

Using low-cost devices, rapid and accurate prototypes can be created for sectors such as casual fashion, healthcare, and workwear. But there are two major things to consider – which printer, and which material.

Choosing the right 3D printer. Assuming we are looking for low-cost devices, we can opt for FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) or DLP (Digital Light Processing) 3D printers, as they are the most affordable compared to other 3D printing technologies. These printers are suitable for producing fabric prototypes in plastic or other similar materials.

3D printers used in the manufacturing of all the fabrics, trimmings and rest of objects depicted in the picture gallery above.
(Photo: Carlos Alonso, Textile Dep., Centro de Estudios AEG-Ikastetxea)

The choice of printing material is the other crucial element for the textile sector. When selecting a 3D printer, you need to ensure that it is compatible with flexible and elastic materials, such as TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) or TPE (thermoplastic elastomer). These materials allow the printing of textile prototypes that resemble real fabrics in terms of flexibility and feel and can be obtained from other used objects, contributing to recycling efforts and hence sustainability. For instance, you can recycle food packaging, waterproof clothing, CDs and DVDs, cable insulation, water bottles to obtain TPU for your 3D printing filaments.

What skills do I need to use a 3D printer?

Operating a 3D printer requires a minimum level of technical knowledge, which varies depending on the printer model. Although it is not complex, it is not as simple as the name suggests. However, the main obstacle lies in creating the design to be printed. In order to create the design from scratch, knowledge of a 3D design programme (Blender, which is free, Solidworks, Rhinoceros 3D, etc.) is required.

Fortunately, there are websites such as Thingiverse and 3D CAD Browser with libraries containing a multitude of pre-designed products that can be downloaded for free. Therefore, not having knowledge of design software should not prevent us from taking advantage of the resources offered by a 3D printer.

Prototype design and validation textiles with 3D printers

When it comes to prototype design, in order to obtain optimal results, it is important to take into account the principles of prototype design specific to the textile sector. Above all, we must consider the shape, structure and details necessary for the type of garment we are going to produce. We can use several programs, like the free Tinkercad, Openscad, Freecad, or  3D Max Autodesk.

A collection of 3D casual fashion clothing in different colours, shapes and textures and
some Textile students below sporting the garments created with 3D printed fabrics and trimmings.
(Photos: Carlos Alonso, Textile Dep., Centro de Estudios AEG-Ikastetxea)

Once the design has been created, we must validate it. 3D manufacturing allows us to make any changes quickly in the design process and make adjustments as necessary. The first step is to print a prototype (one of the parts of the garment to be 3D printed) to evaluate its fit, comfort and functionality. This will help us to validate the designs and make improvements before moving on to mass production, if necessary. Today, mass production is very complicated due to many factors, but it is very suitable for small or customised productions.

Manufacturing textiles with 3D printers

3D manufacturing gives us a significant advantage in terms of customisation and adaptation, i.e. the ability to customise and adapt products to the specific needs of our customers. We can create unique objects that meet individual preferences such as customised compression garments for health purposes, work uniforms adapted to occupational needs, or fabrics for casual fashion clothing.

Before taking prototypes into a bigger production, it is important to carry out performance tests. This involves evaluating the strength, durability and other technical aspects of 3D-printed garments to ensure that they meet the standards required for their specific sector. All of this is improving day by day. At present, it has not been possible to characterise filament with certain textures and fabric behaviours, but progress is being made in this area.

2 examples of garments with soft 3D printed textiles. Photos by Carlos Alonso and Ana Olazabal,Centro de Estudios AEG-Ikastetxea

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