Cornell student wins YMA scholarship for sustainable 3D-printed clothing line

Cornell student Eric Beaudette received one of four 30,000 US dollar Geoffrey Beene National Scholarships from the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund for his practical application of 3D printing, his concept Recycl3-D, a line of 3D-printed, custom-fit activewear.

“The real perks of 3D-printing have not been used to their full potential. I brought together recycling with synthetic blends, customization from body scanning and optimization of the manufacturing process to drastically reduce production waste,” said the young talent who will graduate from Cornell University's department of fibre science & apparel design (FSAD) in the College of Human Ecology this spring.

For the competition, Beaudette created a full-scale prototype garment based on his own measurements, taken in Cornell’s 3D-Body Scanner. In the second step, he added design lines to the body scan. To customise the garment further, he adjusted details such as fit of torso and sleeves, colour and modular accessories. Add to that an innovative locking mechanism and accessories and you have a simple yet effective option for mix-and-match styling. Then, the garment just needs to be 3D-printed.

But this is not all as Beaudette has thought of the garment's full life cycle: Once it is worn out or the wearer is simply tired of it, it can be returned to Recycl3D where it will be converted to raw material again for use in other apparel products, packaging, etc.

With Beaudette's prototype, different occasions and styles no longer pose a problem: The wearer can pick one garment in the morning and adapt the convertible and multipurpose design over the course of the day, e.g. from workplace to gym, by removing or adding accessories such as collars, sleeves, hoods, pockets and other features.

Beaudette credits the bi-dimensional approach at FSAD for his success: “Having a hybrid education between science and design allows me to investigate any one aspect of a product through two unique perspectives. True product design, especially for apparel, has to be a perfect marriage between design and materials.”

“My dream is to be a product developer and innovator, and bring new perspectives to materials and technologies specifically made to interact with the human body,” adds Beaudette. With the scholarship money and the attention of fashion industry leaders, we do hope to see more of Beaudette's innovative ideas as he will soon switch from college to the working world.