It's ironic that on the last day of Baselworld 2014,
I find in my inbox a shared post from Sandra Ley ("Sley"), the
author/moderator of a blog for the Fashion, Textile & Costume Librarians Special Interest Group of ARLIS/NA. Her pass-through
post may describe one of the most disruptive technologies for the watch
manufacturing industry in the first half of the 21st Century akin to
the quartz movement revolution in the last half of the last century.
The post is titled: Will 3DPrinting Upend Fashion Like Napster Crippled the Music Industry?
Written by Rebecca Hiscott, it gives us a preview of
the way the 3D (i.e. additive manufacturing process) can be used to design and
produce fashionable items, clothing and accessories. It also includes a terrific video illustrating the process for creating a designer gown.
Chanel is mentioned throughout as an example of a
targeted luxury line that could face even more legal challenges as a copyright holder if 3D product source codes are developed outside of its auspices and become freely exchanged and executed.
I did discover one example from last year of a
high-end watchmaker, Hoptroff London that used 3D printing to produce an 18 carat gold
watch case intended for commercial purposes!
I’d love to get your reaction to this technology and
its impact on horology.
This comment came from Sandra Ley, author/moderator of the ARLIS/NA Fashion, Textiles and Costume Librarians Special Interest Group and is posted on that blog:
ReplyDelete"Thanks for giving credit and for mentioning the ARLIS/NA Fashion, Textile and Costume Special Interest Group! I hadn’t considered the ease of “printing” watches. Interesting!