Burlesque bombshell debuts World's first 3D-printed gown 

A high-tech 3D-printed dress made its debut last week, with no less than style icon Dita Von Teese modeling it.

 

The dress, designed virtually, is to go on tour and be displayed at Swarovski and in museums, tech site Mashable reported.

 

Designer Michael Schmidt worked with architect Francis Bitonti to produce the 11.5-pound dress, Mashable said.

 

"We were an interesting team because I take things that are virtual and I figure out what to make them of," said Bitonti, a Brooklyn-based architect who renders designs with new technologies in unusual material.

 

For his part, Schmidt —who also designed Lady Gaga's famous bubble dress— said "no other woman but Dita will ever wear this dress." "I'd like to see 'em try," Von Teese replied.

 

Schmidt said the dress was meant not as a "futuristic sci-fi vision" but as an extension of Von Teese' persona "rendered through these futuristic means."

 

"It's still in keeping with her old-world glamor," he said.

 

Mashable said the dress was designed for Von Teese's sensual form, with the goal "to create classical beauty using a modern technique."

 

Hardened powdered nylon

 

The dress, made from hardened powdered nylon, has 17 unique pieces and 3,000 joints to allow for movement on the body.

 

It was created virtually, with Schmidt designing it entirely on his iPad tablet and communicating with Bitonti via teleconferencing service Skype.

 

Each piece was printed and lacquered black, then adorned with 13,000 black Swarovski crystals.

 

"That's not much in my world, I'm used to having that many on my wrist," Von Teese said.

 

Biggest challenge

 

Schmidt said the biggest challenge in creating the dress was working with materials that were not too malleable when they came out of the 3D printer.

 

"To do that you have to break it down into individual components so it can become something sensual ... Taking this hard plastic material and making it flow and sexy and undulate around the body," he said.

 

Francis added the curvature is always changing as the wearer moves. — TJD, GMA News