Droid Fashion: Is Additive Manufacturing Adding to Fashion?

3-Dimensional printing or "additive manufacturing" made its big debut at Euromold, a manufacturing trade fair in Frankfurt from November 29-December 2. Not just clothing is made from this method, but artificial legs and even aircraft door-hinges. A lot of the designs from 3D printing have an organic feeling, which is probably because in most cases the designers have deliberately copied nature. Because this is such a revolutionary process, the human psyche feels more comfortable looking at objects that appear natural.

London architect Daniel Widrig, designer Iris van Herpen, and digital manufacturers .MGX by Materialise collaborated to create a collection of digitally printed clothing, Escapism in 2010. The level of symmetry and intricate design truly makes the clothing in this collection an absolute work of art. However, because of the high level of construction and the impeccable execution, it undoubtedly looks like the work of a machine rather than human hands.

While the dress is beautiful, there still appears to be something artificial about it, despite its 'organic' roots. 

Crystallization, 2010

Crystallization, 2010 (back view)

It is a clear association for androids to be involved with the tech and science fields, yet droids are invading the art/fashion world! Calling Will Smith in "I, Robot" to defend the aesthetic sector, please. (Weird that this is my second Will Smith mention in the span of just 5 blogs... hmm... subconscious, what's going on?!)

Can robots do it better than humans when it comes to art and fashion? Will the next great artist look like this?

(Note to reader: This is already an established robot artist in China with a fan following)

I went into this field, besides having a passion for art, thinking that the "human" touch was what made it highly valued and personal. But could the cold, industrial hands of a robot be what drives this field in the future?