Made from over 6,000 components, Plumage is the world’s first 3D printed, free-moving, customizable cape, giving the illusion of draped feathers. Unveiled during Eindhoven Design Week, the cape is printed in just one piece utilizing a layer of chainmail, with the upper layer being the “feathers”. Plumage was created in a collaboration between design studio Love & Robots and costume designer Niamh Lunny as a way to rethink costume design using new digital and 3D printing technologies.
Despite their history of 3D printing chainmail structure experiments, the Plumage cape explores the process of designing a piece of clothing that can be printed in just one piece without the need for assembly. We have really only seen one other pieces of clothing like this before: Nervous System’s 4D-printed dress.
All of the feathers are customizable and can be designed per specifications, depending on the wearer’s style.