3D Printing in Fashion Fabrics & Design for Textiles

The fashion industry uses AI to inspire designers to create innovative fashion clothes, patterns and fabric, so it shouldn’t be surprising that we’re finally embracing 3D printing. Why not? Sneaker brands including Nike and Puma have been doing this for a while, and as you’ll read below, several innovative companies are using new 3D printing methods. Some are creating high-tech design structures that seem as if they were manufactured in outer space (more about this below), so why shouldn’t we create fashion garments with the same approach?

Here, we discuss the printing methods used to produce fashion-forward designs that are awe-inspiring and extraordinary as well as the fashion designers and manufacturing companies in the industry who are embracing this technology, those inspired to go that extra mile, and the impact this is having on the future of the fashion industry.

What is 3D Printing on Material?

To print a 3D item, CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software is used. The print process involves ‘slicing’ the item to be printed into thin horizontal layers to form a digital file that the printer can read. Those layers are then combined one at a time to create a 3D object. Once those layers are solidified, the 3D object is complete.

These layers can be produced from various substances, including ceramics, composites (a combination of different materials), metals and polymers (plastics).

One of the companies involved in 3D printing is Scandinavian group of companies, Polygiene. They say that “this printing technology allows for incredibly intricate design, enabling brands to add elaborate decorative embellishments and performance-enhancing features.” 

Polygiene describes 3D Fashion Technology as “a 3D printing technology revolutionising the fashion industry” that “allows direct-to-textile 3D printing in full colour and clear print, enabling the creation of spectacular design structures and fantastic optical illusionary effects on garments, footwear and luxury accessories”.

The brand believes it represents the future of the fashion industry. “We predict that the latest innovations in 3D printing will change the way we dress. No longer bound by traditional limitations on what our clothes look like or how they fit, these advancements have given rise to a new generation of fashion designers who care about being sustainable, and consumers eager for something customisable to keep things fresh and renewable.”

Innovations in Fashion Design Fabric 

The first fashion additive manufacturing sector to embrace 3D printing was the footwear industry. This is not surprising, as sneakers have become a fashion-forward section of designer wear, led by global brands like Adidas, Puma, New Balance and Nike. Their designers aren’t afraid to take chances; they produce high-tech items that not only look as if we could wear them in space but also boast technologically inspired attributes. This includes improving our exercise regime and posture, dispelling odour and damp, and embracing sensitive skin. They are also extremely fashion-forward, with space-age designs and creative colour combinations.

Artificial Intelligence is used to transform these designs into new-age versions of sports footwear, which are created using 3D printing technology. The process features specialised software to design and then 3D print parts of the sneakers. 3D printing technology allows designers to experiment with the sneaker designs, the textures of the fabric used, and how these shoes function to make exercising and everyday life as comfortable and fashionable as possible.

The 3D Printing Sneaker Revolution

In 2025, Puma collaborated with a French designer, Louis-Gabriel Nouchi to create the brand’s stellar Mostro sneaker. Puma used a 3D printing service for this offering, a slip-on sneaker with no laces and Puma’s “anatomical sole and distinctive spike design”. It was available in a variety of colour ways, including pink, blue, lavender, black and bone white. 

Another frontrunner is Decathlon Sports, whose running shoe brand, Kiprun, announced their new 3D-printed shoe, the KIPNEXT 3D in 2026.  The entire process, which took around six months, and was produced in the Decathlon Shenzhen factory in China. The 3D printing expertise was provided by Barcelona brand Something Added, who are experts in this technology.

Also in 2026, Nike created the Air Max 1000 model, a 3D printed Air Max that has sold out globally. First launched in May, it featured eight global footwear designers who worked at Nike together to “create limited-run 3D-printed Air Max shoes”. For this inaugural Air Works programme, each unveiled their creations at different times: the July masterpiece was by Motoi Hatsuki from Tokyo, August’s was by Tasnim (London), September by Marc Su (Beijing) and October by Masyn (Los Angeles). At the time of going to print, these will continue in December (a creation by Jose Wong, Shanghai) and in 2027: January (Yams, Paris), February (Omi, NYC) and March (Diya Joukani, Mumbai). 

In October 2026, Nike also announced that it would be offering consumers even more choices with this 3D printed model. This is a new initiative in collaboration with Zellerfeld, a new Nike by You customization programme that includes printing these shoes in one piece with two upper colour ways in “Black” and “Stone” plus seven Air unit colours that can create up to 14 different combinations.

With a nod to history, this new silhouette is a “reimagined version of the original Air Max 1 sneaker” first produced in 1987. It includes “an updated 3D-printed mesh with a lighter feel and softer mesh courtesy of Zellerfeld’s latest printing technology. It also features a “softened midsole” that “allows the visible Nike Air Max unit to activate more fully, creating a more responsive experience underfoot”.

Fabulous Future Fashion with 3D Printing Technology

The fashion industry is rapidly changing to keep up with technology. Everything we do, from designing to additive manufacturing, marketing and selling, is different these days. The fabrics we use to produce fashion garments and accessories are designed with AI and then printed using 3D printing technology, and many components used to create fashion items are also made using 3D printing. This method is known as additive manufacturing, which involves building 3D objects by adding components layer by layer. As 3D printing becomes essential for designing and producing fashion garments, we can only imagine what the future holds. According to a QYResearch forecast, 3D printing technology in the fabric market is “set to surge past £212 million by 2032”.

LCI Barcelona School of Design and Visual Arts teaches its students how to combine technology and creativity to create unique masterpieces. The School’s Head of Fashion, Estel Vilaseca, believes that “3D fashion will allow 3D printing clothes at home in the future. Although there is still a long way to go, it is a scenario that will be real.” The study of a 3D printing service and 3D fashion modelling in the School’s Degree in Fashion Design and its Master’s in Design of Footwear, Bags and Leather Goods Collection, also includes studying digital manufacturing using a 3D printing service, 3D modelling and more.

Textile Sustainability Takes Centre Stage in Fashion

Aside from global schools providing training in updated technology, there is another aspect of the fashion and fabric design and manufacturing industry that is taking centre stage. Sustainability and waste are one of the most important aspects of using new technology in the fashion industry, and 3D printing technology is currently being used to boost a greener fashion environment. Research is underway to find new ways of reducing fabric waste, using more sustainable fibers, filament and textiles and recycling fashion clothes. 3D printing technology using recyclable, biodegradable fabrics is the next step, which will hopefully create more circularity in the fashion industry. 

Also legalised in 2026 is the EU’s Digital Fabric Passport, which makes clothing companies list everything about the fabrics they use, including what fibres the fabrics are made of, how sustainably they were produced and manufactured. We recently published an extensive guide on The Digital Fabric Passport, What It Is, & Why It Matters, which you can take a look at.

Additionally, we suggest you read our blog on Creating Sustainable Fabric from Waste for valuable data on how the UK addresses being sustainable regarding textile fabric. And we compiled a fascinating guide to Fabric Sustainability which tells you all about synthetic fabrics. 

Personalising Fashion Clothing & Design with 3D Printing

We pay a lot for the privilege, but manufacturers can already use a 3D printing service to personalise garments. Currently, they use additive manufacturing for designing and 3D printing fashion clothes using technology to personalise these garments to a customer’s specifications, including body measurements and preferences. 

This may hopefully decrease the amount of excess fashion clothing produced, a huge problem in the fast fashion industry. Using AI in Fashion Design and Manufacturing, we can forecast fashion trends and the capacity required to meet a trend, which may eliminate the need for mass production.

For more inspiration, read our thoughts on The Global Fashion Industry Glut and how to combat it.

Creativity & Technology Using 3D Printing

Couture fashion has also embraced the 3D printer, which was already visible in French fashion designer Balenciaga’s 2023/2024 Fall/Winter Haute Couture fashion show. The design house created a dress that resembled armour, using innovative 3D printing technology with “galvanised resin and polished in chrome”. Aside from being a major technological feat, the dress revealed how Balenciaga had combined technology and luxury haute couture design.

Radical Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen has an exhibition on show until December 6, 2026, that is being hailed as “groundbreaking”. Called Sculpting the Senses, it features 140 haute couture creations with themes covering everything from “microscopic” to “outer space”. What makes this exhibition iconic is how this designer’s extraordinary pieces merge traditional couture craftmanship with innovative technologies, including 3D printing (one of the pieces on display is van Herpen’s first “3D-printed runway garment”).

Read a fascinating guide we compiled on Smart Clothing & Fabric for Sports, Health & Fashion Garments.

3D Printing Feedback 

3D printing organisation Laser Lines published an article on inspiring the next generation of fashion designers using the 3D printer service and processes. While researching data for the blog, they visited the London College of Fashion to hear what Senior Lecturer, Dr Mingjing Lin, thought about 3D printing technology being used in the fashion and fabric industries. Dr Ling is also involved in the Active Materials Lab at the London College of Fashion.

“For the past decade, I have been dedicated to educating fashion and textiles professionals and young people about 3D printing technology and 3D modelling techniques,” she said. We are already seeing innovative design results as these fashion and textiles designers start to embrace 3D printing into their fashion and textile projects.”

The article discusses some “exciting examples of how 3D printing has been used in fashion”. These include “new art forms and fabric experimentation with 3D printing on net and suede leather textiles.”
Dr Lin is also involved with an exhibition which opened on October 8, 2026, in Haarlem, the Netherlands, focusing on Fashion and 3D Printing. Described as “the world’s first 3D print museum”, the gallery is located in a cell in a former prison called the Koepel. 

On display are costumes created for a Beijing Opera performance by Dr Lin using fabrics printed using a 3D printer. According to Dr Lin, the project tested whether printed fabrics could handle the heavy body movement required for an opera performance, compared to walking on a catwalk.

* UPDATED 13 OCTOBER 2026