Print the body. Clothes printing project

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Jeanne Vicerial

Skin has become the main fabric of the 21st century, enabling the body itself to become the new customised apparel.

Over the last three years of my studies, my research was based not only on style considerations, but also on moving away from contemporary industrial constraints and going towards a new clothing production method. My research was focused on developing an artisanal process that makes clothing comparable to 3D printing.


I drew on my research of human anatomy and the body to rethink the construction of clothing. My work is an analogy between body and clothing. My designs are based on human muscular weaves. All my patterns are extracted from human anatomy to create a new, wearable skin. This method of construction allows people to wear their own anatomies, exposing the internal construction of their bodies. Each piece is entirely made of a single recycled thread. This experimental method is hand-crafted, without the use of a sewing machine. Because this process is handmade, the goal is to develop a machine that is capable of sewing customised apparel based on a 3D body scan. While doing my PhD in fashion textiles, I have collaborated alongside engineers to produce this new technology. This method both eliminates textile waste and proposes a different form of industrial customised clothing production.

Article Details

How to Cite
Vicerial, Jeanne. “Print the body. Clothes printing project”. Temes de Disseny, no. 34, pp. 44-47, doi:10.46467/TdD34.2018.44-47.
Author Biography

Jeanne Vicerial, SACRe EnsAD - PSL Research University

Vicerial is currently engaged in the mildly self-sabotaging project of creating a robot to replace herself. It’s just one of the mad-scientist fashion experiments the designer has been playing around with recently, as she attempts to reshape the laws of fashion in her laboratory-slash-studio. She focused on mimicking the anatomical structure of the human form, using strings to imitate sinews. It’s a high-tech version of couture, made in the birthplace of the practice. Most impressively of all, each piece was made from a single, 466-kilometer-long thread.

She’s currently completing a Ph.D. (SACRe EnsAD - PSL Research University, Paris).

She also founded the design, research and innovation studio Clinique Vestimentaire in 2016 with fashion designer Jennifer Chambaret: “in this clinic, we take care of patient’s body for clothing creation.” In the consciousness of man and his anatomy, designers and researchers of Clinique Vestimentaire propose alternative concepts to the contemporary textile industry.

With theoric, scientific and practical researches, they developed new clothing conception approaches. By combining tailor-made and ready-to-wear, they are defining a new paradigm: “ready-to-tailoring”.

Actualmente está cursando el doctorado (SACRe EnsAD - PSL Université Paris).

Junto con la diseñadora de moda Jennifer Chambaret, en 2016 fundó el estudio de diseño, investigación e innovación Clinique Vestimentaire: "En esta clínica nos ocupamos del cuerpo del paciente para crear prendas de ropa". Teniendo en cuenta al hombre y su anatomía, los diseñadores y los investigadores de Clinique Vestimentaire proponen conceptos alternativos a la industria textil contemporánea.

Con sus trabajos de investigación teórica, científica y práctica, han desarrollado nuevos planteamientos en la confección de prendas de ropa. Combinando los conceptos "hecho a medida" y "para llevar" están definiendo un nuevo paradigma: "para personalizar" (ready-to-tailoring).