Until recently, made-to-measure tailoring – clothing made to a customer’s individual specifications – was the only way to achieve perfectly fitting clothing. For most people, the cost of custom tailoring is prohibitive. However, the invention of energetic fibers and groundbreaking knitting processes is changing the textile industry.
“We all wear clothes and shoes,” says Sasha MicKinlay MArch ’23, a recent graduate of MIT’s School of Architecture. “It’s a human need. But there is also a human need to express ourselves. I like the idea of customizing clothes in a sustainable way. This dress promises to be more sustainable than traditional fashion for both the consumer and the manufacturer.”
McKinlay is a textile designer and researcher at the self-assembly lab he designed 4D knitted dress with the Ministry of Supply, a fashion company specializing in high-tech clothing. The dress combines several technologies to create a personalized fit and style. Heat-activated yarn, computerized knitting and automatic activation around each garment ensure a sculpted fit. A team from the Ministry of Supply made decisions regarding stable yarns, color, original size and overall design.
“Every body is different,” says Skylar Tibbits, assistant professor of architecture and founder of the Self-Assembly Lab. “Even if you’re the same size as someone else, you’re not really the same.”
Energetic textiles
Students in the Self-Assembly Lab have been working with lively textiles for several years. The yarns they create can change shape, properties, insulation or become breathable. Previous uses to fit clothing include making sweaters and masks. Tibbits says the 4D Knit Dress is the culmination of everything students have learned working with energetic textiles.
McKinlay helped produce the energetic yarns, created the conceptual design, developed the knitting technique, and programmed the laboratory’s industrial knitting machine. Once the garment design is programmed into the machine, many dresses can be produced quickly. The inclusion of energetic yarns in the design allows the dress to take on a variety of styles, such as darts, pleats, an empire waist, or a belted waist.
“Style is important,” says McKinlay. “Most people focus on size, but I think style is what makes clothes stand out. We all evolve as people, and I think our style evolves as well. Once you get the fit, people focus on personal expression.
Danny Griffin MArch ’22, a current graduate student in architectural design, has no experience in apparel manufacturing or the fashion industry. Tibbits asked Griffin to join the team because of his experience with robotics projects in construction. Griffin translated the heat activation process into a programmable robotic procedure that would precisely control its application.
“When we apply heat, the fibers shorten, causing the fabric to gather in a specific zone, effectively tightening the shape as if we were sewing a garment,” says Griffin. “It took a lot of trial and error to figure out how to set up the robot and the thermal gun. Heat must be applied in precise places to activate the fibers in each garment. The next challenge was setting the temperature and duration of heat application.”
It took some time to figure out how the robot could reach all areas of the dress.
“We couldn’t use a commercially available heat gun, which works like a hand-held hair dryer, because it was too large,” Griffin says. “We needed a more compact design. Once we figured that out, it was a lot of fun writing the script for what the robot would follow.”
A dress may start with a single pattern – such as pleats across the chest – and be worn for several months before being heat treated again to change its appearance. Later applications of heat can further customize the dress.
Beyond fit and fashion
According to Gihan Amarasiriwardena ’11, co-founder and president of Ministry of Supply, productive garment production is a “big challenge” in the fashion industry.
“You’ll often be guessing what the style of the season is,” she says. “Sometimes a style isn’t popular or certain sizes don’t sell out. They might get marked down or end up in the landfill.”
“Fast fashion” is a term that describes clothing that is affordable, fashionable, and uncomplicated to dispose of by the consumer. They are designed and manufactured quickly to keep up with current trends. The 4D knit dress, Tibbits says, is the opposite of speedy fashion. Unlike the conventional “cut and sew” process used in the fashion industry, the 4D knit dress is made entirely in one piece, virtually eliminating waste.
“From a global perspective, you don’t have a huge inventory because the dress is made to your size,” Tibbits says.
McKinlay hopes that the apply of this up-to-date technology will reduce the amount of inventory waste that retailers typically leave behind at the end of each season.
“The dress could be tailored to accommodate these changes in styles and tastes,” she says. “It may also be able to absorb some of the size variations that retailers need to stock. Instead of sizes extra small, small, medium, large and extra large, retailers could have one dress for smaller sizes and one for larger sizes. Of course, these are the same sustainability points that would benefit the consumer.”
Self-Assembly Lab has been working with Ministry of Supply on energetic textile projects for several years. Delayed last year, the team debuted 4D Knitted Dress at the company’s flagship store in Boston, with a robot that moved around the dress while customers looked at it. For Amarasiriwardena, it was an opportunity to gauge interest and receive feedback from customers interested in trying on the dress.
“If there is demand, we can create it quickly,” as opposed to the usual design and production process that can take years, Amarasiriwardena says.
Griffin and McKinlay were present for the demonstration and were pleased with the results. For Griffin, once the “technical barriers” are overcome, he sees many different ways to implement the project.
“This experience makes me want to try more,” he says.
McKinlay would also like to work on more styles.
“I hope this research project helps people rethink or reassess their relationship with clothes,” says McKinlay. “Currently, when people buy clothes, they only have one ‘look.’ But how exciting would it be to buy one item of clothing and reinvent it so that it changes and evolves as you change or as the seasons or your style change? I hope that’s what people take away.”