Good Disruption: Digital Fashion

Garments that respond to body movements, intricate laced dresses using plastics and resins, highly sculpted pieces with complex geometric shapes. The use of 3D printing in the fashion industry is allowing designers to think outside the box, in both materials and creativity. Major fashion houses Adidas, Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Reebok, Tommy Hilfiger, and others are using 3D printing to bring new ideas to life while helping to reduce the industry’s environmental footprint.

The impacts of this multi-billion fashion industry are estimated at 10% of global carbon emissions and 20% of global clean water pollution. The production process is also responsible for significant waste – an estimated 35% of materials used in the supply chain ends up as waste.

In this episode of Good Disruption, Mike Lenox and Yael Grushka-Cockayne are joined by Naomi Kaempfer, creative director for Art, Design and Fashion at Stratasys, a leader in industrial 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions, materials and services, to discuss how the fashion industry can benefit from 3D printing by creating customizable, fully digital products that reduce waste and improve supply chain efficiency. Together they look at the potential for improvements in creative design and ponder the impact on traditional industries from customizable and “intelligent” clothing.

About the Expert

Michael Lenox

Special Adviser for the Dean; Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration

Lenox’s expertise is in the domain of technology strategy and policy. He studies the role of innovation in helping a business succeed. In particular, he explores the sourcing of external knowledge by firms and this practice’s impact on a company’s innovation strategy. Lenox has a longstanding interest in the interface between business strategy and public policy as it relates to the natural environment; his work explores firm strategies and nontraditional public policies that have the potential to drive green innovation and entrepreneurship.

In 2013, Lenox co-authored The Strategist’s Toolkit with Darden Professor Jared Harris. His latest book,

Lenox is a prolific author; his most recent book, Strategy in the Digital Age: Mastering Digital Transformation, examines how digital technologies and services enable the creation of innovative products and services, as well as identifying new competitive positions.

B.S., M.S., University of Virginia; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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About the Expert

Yael Grushka-Cockayne

Senior Associate Dean for Professional Degree Programs; Altec Styslinger Foundation Bicentennial Professor of Business Administration

Grushka-Cockayne’s research and teaching activities focus on decision analysis, forecasting, project management and behavioral decision-making.

As an expert in the area of project management, she has served as a consultant to international firms in the aerospace and transportation industries. She is the secretary/treasurer of INFORMS Decision Analysis Society, a U.Va. Excellence in Diversity fellow and member the Project Management Institute.

B.Sc., Ben-Gurion University; M.Sc., London School of Economics; M.Res., Ph.D., London Business School

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